The Fed Man (14 page)

Still standing by his car, he took stock of himself for the umpteenth time. His shoes were polished, pants were pressed, belt buckle was aligned properly, zipper was closed, shirt was neatly tucked in, and hair was combed. He kicked at a stone, cursed under his breath, and then muttered aloud, “What am I doing? I’m acting like a stupid teenager on his first date. I just want to find out when and where I should return the stupid pie plate.”

But he was cognizant of the beads of sweat beginning to form on his brow and in his armpits as well as the sensation of warmth coming up his neck and into his face. He shook his head, took a deep breath, and again muttered, “Well, here goes everything. Or nothing.”

He walked through the door of the Dawg’s Breath and was immediately met with the twangy sounds of yet another country-western tune coming from the loud jukebox in the corner. But this time he paid no attention to the lyrics. Instead, he anxiously tugged at his neck while allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim bar light. He spotted a booth close that would give him a good vantage point of the entire bar as well as the kitchen exit. He had just sat down and picked up a peanut when he heard that voice again.

“Well, look who’s here. Did your buddies trust you to come out alone tonight? And can I get you anything?”

Startled, he felt all the blood drain out of his head and flow to his feet, then return in such a rush that he thought it would lift him out of the seat. Smashing the peanut he was holding between his thumb and index finger, he looked up and replied, “Oh, I’m sorry, Nancy. I didn’t hear you coming. Ah, yes, I’m here by myself tonight. And sure, I’d like a beer. Ah, a Heineken would be great. Please. And would you bring me an appetizer, please. Your choice. I’m hungry and could eat anything.”

Man, what’s happening to me
, he wondered as he wiped some sweat from his brow with the napkin Nancy had placed in front of him.
And I thought I was so cool under pressure
.

She was wearing her long brown hair pulled up in a half flip and held with a single hairpin. She put one hand on her hip and looked down at him with those soft, captivating blue eyes and a small smile, as she said, “I’ll be right back with your beer. And I’ll put in an order for onion rings. I think they are absolutely delicious here.”

“I love onion rings. Oh, ah, and if you can, or wouldn’t mind, or if you’d like to or have time, I’d be happy to share the onion rings with you.”

Nancy thought she couldn’t resist that pleading look on his face. “That’s real sweet of you, Nube. I’m due for my break in a bit. I’ll tell you what. I’ll bring the rings and take my break so you can share them with me.” And with that she turned and walked away.

As he sat slack-jawed and watched her walk away, he was positive that she was able to see and hear his heart beating because he thought it was going to jump right out of his chest.

Driving home later that night he tried to recount the evening. But what he remembered for sure was that Nancy invited him to dinner the next Saturday evening so he could return the pie plate. Thinking of that ruse, he began to blush again. And she had asked him to bring Ms. Abby because PJ would just love to play with her. But what about these feelings? Were they right?

Suddenly the emotional roller-coaster he had been riding all afternoon and evening caught up with him. He pulled the TT to the side of the road, shifted into neutral, and set the parking brake. He rested his head on the steering wheel and then the tear gates
opened. He thought of his precious Ellie and how she had been taken away from him. He could not remember crying this hard when he learned she had died or at her funeral. Sobbing uncontrollably, he gripped the wheel with all his strength and repeatedly cried out for his Ellie. With time the crying lessened, and he used his handkerchief in a futile attempt to dry the tears.

He looked up and through the stifled sobs he muttered, “I’m sorry, Ellie. I’m so sorry.”

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, but he was sure that he had finally opened his heart and allowed himself to grieve. Perhaps now he would finally be able to move on with his life. He knew one thing for sure, though: tonight he would sleep very, very well.

Naldie usually hated Monday mornings. That’s because he couldn’t always remember where they left off on Friday and where they were supposed to begin on Monday. But not today. Naldie hung up the phone and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and loudly. His jowls sagged as he took off his frayed cap and rubbed his head. He was about to tell the news to Nube, Doc, and Pete, who were in his office, when his door opened and Marie entered, carrying a tray of coffee mugs and a pot of freshly brewed coffee.

“Pete, there’s a bag of fresh caramel rolls on my desk. If you wouldn’t mind getting them I’ll be happy to share with you boys.” Turning to Naldie, she smiled. “Who called, Chief?”

Pete rose from his chair, but hesitated because he wanted to learn what had saddened his boss so early on a Monday morning.

“That was the chief of police at Winter Falls. Seems they had three of their teenagers go missing Friday night. They found two of them, both females, in an irrigation ditch on an abandoned farm just outside of town Saturday morning. Their bodies were taken to
Duluth, where the autopsies showed they had socks stuffed down their throats. And the tox screens showed they had alcohol and Rohypnol in their systems. They still haven’t found the third body of a young man. I told him that we had a young John Doe here in our morgue and I’d talk to our coroner about coordinating efforts to see if we have their boy.”

The chief rubbed his abdomen. “Pete, get those rolls. You know I need food if I’m going to think.”

As Pete exited Naldie’s office, the phone rang and startled the chief, who almost knocked the phone off his desk.

“Jesus Jennie Lybeck. Now what?” Gathering himself, he picked up the receiver after the third ring. “Hello, this is Chief Bushmiller. How may I help you?”

“Chief, this is Dr. Anthony. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve identified the body of the young man. His name is John Ashford. He’s seventeen and from Winter Falls. The only other things I’ve learned so far is that he had severe acne and had just started Accutane for that. He had also suffered a severe electrical burn to his face and mouth as a youngster when he bit into an electrical cord. I should have his tox screen reports either later today or tomorrow. Chief … are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here, Joe. I just heard from the chief in Winter Falls. There were two girls with him and both were found dead Saturday morning. Both had socks stuffed down their throats and alcohol and Rohypnol in their systems. When you learn anything further, please let me know.” He slowly returned the receiver to its cradle.

With another audible sigh he let himself sink into his chair. Reaching for his cup of coffee, he scanned the solemn group.

“Well, anybody have any bright ideas this morning?” Before anyone could respond, he turned his attention to his office door and yelled, “Pete, would you bring those rolls in here before we can resell them as day-olds!”

Nube stood up and leaned against the wall adjacent to the single window where sunlight was just beginning to flood the room.

“I’ve given this some thought, Chief, and this is how I think we should proceed. I think you should send someone, preferably Pete, to Winter Falls to do some detective work. Interview some of the locals and especially any bar owners. Let’s see if we can find someone who may have seen a suspicious character there last Friday night.” Turning to Doc, he continued, “I think you should do some medical research for us. Find out something about Rohypnol. What is it, where and how is it obtained, et cetera.”

Nodding, Doc added, “I know just who to see. Merlyn Anderson, our local pharmacist, is a walking textbook of pharmacology.”

Turning to Marie, Nube continued. “Marie, I mentioned the other day about doing some research on similar deaths, you know, roofies and socks used to suffocate the victims. Also see if you can find out when we’ll learn about any further trace evidence or tox reports. And I would suggest you contact the two attorneys and ask them if we can push our meeting with them back until three this afternoon.”

Marie nodded while busily jotting in her notebook.

Still leaning against the wall, Nube spread out his hands to take in the whole group. “I’m off to interview Leo at Dr. Anthony’s office. I suggest that we meet back here at one o’clock.”

Naldie stood up and, pointing his fingers at his chest, he asked, “What do you suggest that I do, Mr. Lawson?”

“Stay calm, answer the phone, and don’t eat all the rolls.”

The coroner’s building did not seem quite so grotesque this time. In some strange way it possessed its own beauty. Despite that, Nube thought it could still use some flowers, perhaps some roses or even a bougainvillea bush or two. And a flowering crab tree as well. It needed something to remind people of life, rather than just being a reflection of death.

Mrs. Blowster was obviously startled when he opened the door and entered the reception area. She rose halfway out of her chair, put one hand to her mouth, and then sat again. Nube saw the blush in her cheeks as she began patting her hair with her left hand while pushing some papers to the side with her right. One of the papers fell off and fluttered to the floor.

“Well, Nube, I mean, Mr. Lawson. What a surprise to see you again so soon. What might I do for you today?”

“Good morning, Mrs. Blowster. I’m scheduled to visit with Leo this morning. I trust that he’s here and available?”

“Yes, yes of course. He’s just finishing some cleaning in the back. Dr. Anthony had an autopsy early this morning, but they’ve finished that.”

Leaning forward and assuming a secretive pose, she lowered her voice, looked around the room, and added, “They found the town drunk dead early this morning behind the Dawg’s Breath. Behind the Dumpster, no less.” Sitting back and briefly throwing her hands up in the air, she continued, “He doesn’t have any family that we know about and obviously no money. I suppose the county will have to ante up for this one. I have to call Father Paulo to see if he’ll do some sort of funeral service and to see if we can bury him in a corner of St. Mary’s cemetery.” She nodded, adding, “He’ll do it. He’s a great guy. But you didn’t come here to see what I had to do today. Let me get Leo for you. Or would you like to see Dr. Anthony first?”

Nube rubbed his chin and squinted. “I would like to visit with Dr. Anthony first, if that would be all right?”

“I’m sure he’s available. Let me buzz his office.” She pushed the intercom for Dr. Anthony’s office. “Nube Lawson is here and would like to visit with you, Doctor.” She half closed her eyes and pursed her lips for a moment before smiling again. “Yes, Doctor. I’ll tell him.”

She continued to smile at Nube while returning another wandering hair to its proper location. “He’ll be right out. He asked that you take a seat for a moment while he finishes some paperwork.”

While Nube sat, he noted that Mary suddenly became very busy, but she seemed to be just shuffling papers from one pile to another.

It was two minutes by Nube’s watch before the door opened and Dr. Anthony flew into the room with a huge smile on his face and his right arm extended. “Nube, how good to see you.” While shaking his right hand, he gestured with his left. “Let’s go into my office and visit a bit.”

He asked Mrs. Blowster to bring him and Nube some of her delicious coffee, and then he lowered his head and marched toward his office. His gait reminded Nube of someone who was walking into a blizzard.

Once in his office, Dr. Anthony walked around his desk and plopped himself into his chair. He straightened his bow tie, removed his wire-rim glasses, and wiped away an apparent smudge before folding his hands together and placing them on his desk.

“Well, son, what can I do for you today? And how’s the investigation going? Any new leads? And how’s Naldie holding up? Oh, please, I’m so rude. Won’t you please have a chair?”

The smile left his face as he looked past Nube and continued, “Now where’s Mary with that coffee? You know, sometimes I wonder about that lady.” After a loud sigh, he lifted his hands in the air and smiled again. “But what are you going to do? Good help is so hard to find. This brings us to Leo. You’re here to interview him this morning, correct?”

Slowly sitting, Nube responded, “Yes, I am. If that’s still okay with you, Doctor?”

“Sure. Yes, of course. How about using my office? I’ve got some other things to do and that will give you some privacy.”

Nube looked up as Mary entered, carrying a tray with the freshly brewed coffee. The look on Dr. Anthony’s face turned to a scowl and his voice was sharp. “It’s about time. What did you do, go to Habib’s for it?”

The sudden change in personality caught Mary by surprise. The loud gasp alerted Nube and he grabbed the tray just before she dropped it. Her shoulders slouched and the tears began to trickle down her cheeks, carrying with them some of the makeup she had applied that morning.

“I’m so sorry, Dr. Anthony. I thought you might like some fresh coffee so I brewed a new pot. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” Beginning to sob and with her head shaking, she scurried back to the safety of her office.

Nube’s look of disgust was not lost on Dr. Anthony. With a forced smile he raised his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “Like I said about good help.”

Standing, he came around the desk. “Let me go find Leo. I’ll send him in. If you need anything more from me after you’re done, have him find me. Have a good day, Mr. Lawson.”

Nube watched him as he entered the large room and walked toward Leo, who was still mopping the floor. Dr. Anthony stopped
in front of Leo, and began shaking his finger at the cowering morgue attendant. Nube couldn’t hear what he was saying, but Leo was obviously frightened. Leo looked toward Nube when his boss pointed in that direction. Leo was slowly nodding and then began shuffling toward him. Nube rose and greeted Leo at the door with his right hand extended.