The Bass Wore Scales (28 page)

“
We need to empty all this trash out and go through it piece by piece,” I said. “If you’d put it right next to that one, it’d be a big help.”

“
I can’t get back here till tomorrow morning,” the driver said. “I’m booked up today.”

“
What’s the weather supposed to do?” I asked Nancy, knowing she always checked the weather before taking her motorcycle out.

“
I think we’re fine—until Friday anyway,” said Nancy.

“
Tomorrow will be fine,” I said. “First thing, right?”

“
First thing,” said the driver. “Should I have it billed to the church?”

“
No, bill it to the St. Germaine Police Department.”

“
Will do.”

We watched the truck pull away. “Call Dave,” I said to Nancy, “and get him to bring a tarp down here and cover up that dumpster just in case the weatherman’s wrong. Then let’s go in and take another look at the office.”

Chapter 17

“
Can I help you?” asked Bootsie Watkins, when we walked into her office.

“
We need to see Brother Kilroy’s office, if you don’t mind,” I said.

“
We’ve had a couple of men from the church working on cleaning it up, off and on, for the past couple of days. Ever since the insurance adjustor gave us the okay.”

“
Can we have the key?”

“
It’s open,” said Bootsie, “but here’s the key. It’s the only one. We’re going to change that old lock and get a new door. There’s no reason to keep that one since Brother Kilroy is de…uh…no longer with us. It came out of his grandfather’s old church.”

I looked at the key that she handed me. It was a skeleton key, dark with age, the once sharp edges worn down over decades of use.

“
Thanks,” I said. “I’ll check back with you when we’re finished.”

* * *

Nancy and I walked down the hall to Kilroy’s office. We reached the heavy wooden door, and Nancy reached for the knob.

“
Hang on a second,” I said. “Before you open it. Let’s think about this.”

Nancy pulled her hand back and looked at the door. “The window’s still broken,” she said.

“
Yep. But, here’s the thing. When we got here, the door was locked. Remember? Locked from the inside.”

“
I remember. The key was still in the lock.”

“
Right. The door couldn’t have been locked simply by pulling it closed. It’s not that kind of lock. So, if there was another person in there—someone who hit Kilroy in the head with a pipe—how did he get out?”

“
Window?” said Nancy.

“
I don’t remember one,” I said. “But maybe we missed it.”

“
Chimney?”

“
There’s a fireplace, but it’s gas if I remember correctly. Probably unvented, so there wouldn’t be a chimney, but let’s check.”

“
Secret passage?” said Nancy, with a smile. “Like the pope?”

“
Not as outlandish as you might think,” I said. “I know several churches that have less than conspicuous means of egress for the clergy. Sometimes they want to get out of the building without anyone seeing them. And these entrances aren’t always obvious.”

“
Should we ask Bootsie?”

“
Let’s see if we can find something first,” I suggested.

* * *

We opened the door to the office and went in. The office was bare. The desk was gone—presumably in the dumpster outside—along with the piano, books, computer, rugs, chairs and sofas. The built-in bookcases were the only furniture remaining.”

“
I guess the insurance company gave them a total loss on the furnishings,” Nancy said.

“
From what I remember, it
was
a total loss.”

Nancy nodded in agreement and walked into to the bathroom.

“
Nothing in here either,” she said. “If there was an iron pipe, and it was still here, it’s probably in the dumpster. But I’m not betting on it.”

“
I don’t think it’s there either,” I said. “But we’ll have to go through everything anyway. Any windows in the bathroom?”

“
Nope.”

“
There aren’t any in here either. And no chimney.”

“
Then, supposing there was a killer, how did he get out?”

“
Check everything. Make sure there’s not another way out of the bathroom. I’ll do the same in here.”

“
Will do,” said Nancy.

Ten minutes later, we were convinced that there was only one entrance to the office.

“
We’ll check around the outside of the building on the way out, but it looks like the door is the only way in or out,” I said. “Let’s ask the secretary just to be sure.”

We closed the door to the office behind us and walked back down the hall to Bootsie’s office.

“
No,” she said, surprised at our question. “Wait a minute. I have the blueprints to the building.” She walked over to a filing cabinet, rummaged for a moment and brought us a big file containing a set of folded blueprints. “Take them with you if you want.”

“
Thanks,” I said. “Here’s the key to the office. We’ll bring these blueprints back in a few days.”

* * *

Nancy and I went into the Slab Café for another cup of coffee and some breakfast. Dave was waiting for us at a table.

“
Did you see the race yesterday?” he asked.

“
Yeah, I did,” I said, taking a seat. “It’s hard to believe.”

Collette walked up and set down some mugs. “He was just showing off,” she said. “That’s why he died. Micah 6:8 tells us to walk humbly with our God. James 4:10 says ‘Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will exalt you.’ Junior Jameson wasn’t humble. He was a show-off, and that’s why he’s dead.”

“
Kind of a harsh sentence,” said Nancy. She held up her mug for Collette to fill.

“
It don’t do to mock God,” sniffed Collette, as she walked away.

“
Does she have the whole Bible memorized?” Nancy asked Dave.

“
It seems like it,” said Dave with a sigh. “She quotes scripture at me almost all day long. I thought it would slow down a little once Brother Kilroy was killed, but it’s just gotten worse. I tell you, it’s wearing me out.”

“
I’m sorry,” said Nancy.

I looked over at her, waiting for her to take the shot I knew was coming, but she just took a sip of her coffee.

“
Thanks,” said Dave. “Anyway, what did Kent Murphee say?”

We went over Kent’s findings with him, Nancy filling her pad with notes as we talked. Then we discussed the crime scene and what needed to be done.

“
You mean someone’s got to go through all that trash?” asked Dave.

“
Not just anyone, Dave,” said Nancy. “Someone with the rank of corporal.”

“
Me?”

“
You,” said Nancy, with a smile.

“
I think it’ll go faster if there’s a lieutenant involved as well,” I added. “Tomorrow morning. First thing.”

“
Oh, man…” said Nancy.

* * *

“
Here’s your breakfast,” said Pete. “Did you hear anything from the governor?”

“
The governor?” I said.

“
Kokomo? Amnesty? The governor? Remember?”

“
Ah. I’m sorry. There’s a lot going on today,” I said. “I haven’t heard anything. I’ll call Raleigh as soon as we’re finished. We may have some new information on the Kilroy case.”

“
What’s up?”

“
Kent doesn’t think that Kokomo did it. Quite frankly, I’m having doubts as well.”

“
Really? Then the governor will have to hold off.”

“
We don’t have any proof yet. We’re working on it. I’ll call right after breakfast.”

* * *

Dave, Nancy and I were on our way back to the Police Department when Billy yelled to me from across the park.

“
Hayden! Come over here for a second.”

“
You guys go on,” I said to Nancy and Dave. “I’ve got to talk to Billy. I’ll be there shortly.”

“
I’ve been calling Junior Jameson’s office all morning. I finally got through,” said Billy, as I walked up.

“
What did they say?”

“
No comment.”

“
You can’t tell me?”

“
No. They said ‘no comment.’ So then I called the crew chief. I have his cell number,” Billy added.

“
And?”

“
And he said he was talking with Kimmy Jo Jameson—you know, Junior’s wife. They want to have the funeral here in St. Germaine. Kimmy Jo said that it’s what Junior wanted. They’re going to let us know about the final plans, but it’s going to be on Thursday afternoon.”

“
I’ll put it on my calendar.”

“
You’re darn right you will. The choir is singing,” laughed Billy.

“
What are we singing?” I asked.

“
Kimmy Jo’s going to fax everything to the church. There’s something else, too.”

“
What?”

“
St. Barnabas is getting most of its money back. Our contract was with Junior. He was the driver and owned the racing team. Since he’s dead, the contract is null and void. We get 15.1 million dollars.”

“
So we’ve got to go through the whole thing again?” I asked.

“
Nope,” said Billy. “Gaylen Weatherall’s in charge now. I have a feeling this won’t be a problem.”

* * *

“
What did the governor’s office say?” asked Nancy when I put down the phone.

“
They’re not going to intervene.”

“
Did you tell them about the new evidence?”

“
I did, but it doesn’t matter. They asked if we had any concrete evidence. Until we have proof that Kokomo didn’t do it, he did.”

“
What about ‘innocent until proven guilty?’”

“
It doesn’t apply to animals,” I said, with a shake of my head.

“
Dave and I could go out and find the pipe tonight,” Nancy offered. “If it’s there.”