The Mournful Teddy (26 page)

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“I can’t believe you said that with a straight face. But, I really don’t want you to worry. I’m not going to do anything to endanger her.”

“If you say so, Brad. Still, please be careful,” he said as we shook hands.

I climbed into the truck and drove back across the farm to Kilday Road. Less than ten minutes later, I turned onto our driveway and as the house came into view I saw an unoccupied sheriff’s patrol car parked near the house.

I felt a tiny prick of fear and tried to reassure myself that it was Tina’s cruiser, because the only other option was that Holcombe hadn’t been able to rein in his son and that Trent had come to eliminate us as a problem. Then I relaxed as the front door opened and Ash, Tina, and Kitch came out of the house.

Ash gave me a hug. “Hi honey, I’m glad you’re home.”

“Me too, even if it is only for a few minutes.” I gave her a kiss on the forehead and then glanced at Tina. “So, how did the wild-goose chase go?”

“Fine. In fact, it was kind of fun. First, I drove up to the ski area on Massanutten Mountain and then over to the Island Ford Bridge where I stopped and pretended to look for evidence.”

“Was Trent following you?”

“Not at first, but he picked me up when I came down from the mountain. He kept his distance though. I think I scared him.”

“I guess he’s not as stupid as he looks.”

“Then, about twenty-five minutes ago he just took off, so that must have been when you ran into Holcombe at the Ewell estate.”

“Fortunately, Trent’s still lucid enough to follow his daddy’s instructions, although we can’t continue to count on that.”

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Ash knew how much my leg was hurting and she guided me toward the picnic table. “So, where did you go after you finished with Ewell?”

“Over to interview Josh and the other Massanutten Rangers.” I settled onto the bench and sighed with relief.

Kitch sat down and rested his damp chin on my knee.

Scratching his head, I continued, “Yesterday I overheard a couple of reenactors talking about an argument between a man and a woman they’d heard on Friday night. I didn’t mention it because it didn’t seem significant at the time.”

“And the reenactors have their camp at Pouncey’s farm, which is next to the Ewell estate.” Ash sat down beside me.

“Right. It turns out that six—count ’em, six—witnesses heard this donnybrook at eleven-oh-nine p.m., which contradicts the story I’d just gotten from Ewell’s live-in physical therapist.”

Tina made a capital T with her hands. “Time out.

You’re saying that Trent isn’t the murder suspect?”

“Unfortunately not, and Thayer’s death probably had nothing to do with the theft of the Mourning Bear—

which, by the way, Trent probably took.”

“Then who killed him?”

“I strongly suspect it was Meredith Audett—the physical therapist I just mentioned.”

“Why?” both women demanded simultaneously.

“I don’t have time to tell you the entire story, so briefly, there’s evidence of a sexual relationship between Thayer and Meredith, although she claims to have despised him. Also, from a purely physical standpoint, she’s big and muscular enough to have committed the crime.”

“You said that she lied,” said Ash.

“They were lies of omission. She and Liz Ewell—

who’s a real gem of a human being, by the way—said that Thayer left the house with the bear at about nine-forty p.m.

en route to Poole’s place. However, Meredith neglected to The Mournful Teddy

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mention that she became involved in a loud argument with a man ninety minutes or so later.”

“But how do you know it was Thayer?” asked Tina.

“It had to be. For starters, unless you have a key to the gate, you have to call the house on an intercom to get into the estate. Neither Ewell nor Meredith said anything about any visitors coming to the house later that evening, so that means the man in the argument was someone who had access to the property.”

“So, what else did Meredith lie about?” said Ash.

“Ewell told me that Thayer didn’t have a current girlfriend. Meredith didn’t disagree. That was another lie by omission, although I didn’t realize it at the time. Yet when I searched the guesthouse where he lived, I saw long brown hairs on the bed pillow and in the shower.”

“And he was bald,” Tina said.

“Correct, and Meredith’s hair is the same color and about the same length. And, the place was clean, so the hairs had been left recently.”

Tina rubbed her chin. “So maybe they were in a romantic relationship. It still doesn’t prove she killed him.

What’s the motive?”

“Rage. Early on, Meredith told me that Thayer was a con artist and she wasn’t lying when she said that. I think he probably tricked her into his bed and she, like so many nice women, thought she was going to rehabilitate the bad boy. Maybe when Trent robbed Thayer, he told him to get out of town.”

“And he went back to the estate and told her that whatever they had was over,” Tina finished the scenario for me and I thought I heard a distant echo of pain in her voice, as if I’d just provoked some ugly memories.

“Do you think Liz Ewell knows?” Ash asked.

“There’s no way of telling. She didn’t give any indication that she was aware of the relationship or the argument, 224

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but that doesn’t mean anything. That old woman’s got more dark layers than a freaking chocolate torte.”

Tina finally emerged from her brief reverie. “So, what do we do?”

“Leave Meredith alone for now. She isn’t going anywhere and we need to know the entire story before we reinterview her. And we’re going to need an arrest warrant and a search warrant when we go back.”

“I’ve written a few search warrants for burglary and dope cases, but never one for a homicide.”

“The affidavit format isn’t really much different. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you’ll just be including a larger list of items that you hope to find during the search. I’ll be happy to help you with that, but you’ve got some much bigger issues to consider right now. For instance, are you prepared for what’s going to happen when you arrest Holcombe and Trent?”

“I think so.”

“You know as well as I do that this level of corruption is never really a secret. You can take it to the bank that your Commonwealth’s Attorney knew what was going on, as did the county board of supervisors. Some of them may have even directly profited from it and they’re going to be terrified that the Holcombes are going to roll—”

“And cut a deal to tell everything they know. I realize that I’m going to be under a lot of pressure to cover everything up.”

I locked eyes with her. “Exactly. The bottom line is that you are going to be the ranking law enforcement officer in the county that’s on duty and not under arrest—you are going to be the interim sheriff for at least a couple of hours. Are you ready for that?”

Tina didn’t look away. “Absolutely.”

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“Good. Then you can count on Ash and me to stand by you and do everything we can.”

Ash nodded vigorously and reached over to squeeze Tina’s hand. “I’m so proud of you. You’ll do fine.”

“And not that I’m trying to run the show, but have you given any thought to calling in some backup? I’m assuming there are at least a few honest cops in the county.”

“Most of the deputies are honest,” Tina said in a slightly brittle tone, and I instantly realized that I’d touched a nerve by insulting the entire Sheriff’s Department rather than just the Holcombes. “I’ve already thought of two or three guys to call in, but I’m not going to do that until Holcombe and Trent are in custody. That way we’ll avoid an argument over whether I’m issuing legal orders.”

“Good idea and I’m sorry if you took that last comment as a slam.”

Tina looked down at the tabletop. “No, it’s me that should be apologizing. You have every right to be suspicious of the department, but I’m going to do my best to change that.”

“We know you will,” said Ash.

“I agree. So, let’s decide on our plan of action. I strongly believe our next move should be to go and interview Pastor Poole.”

“Why Poole? I mean, I understand he lied about knowing Thayer, but how is he connected with everything else?” Tina asked.

“Ewell told me that Poole was on the organizing committee for the charity auction and that he and Thayer were going to transport the Mourning Bear into Harrisonburg on Friday night. Based on the facts that Poole didn’t raise the alarm when Thayer was a no-show and Lorraine Cleland was at his church the following morning, we know that something was up.”

Ash was the first to comprehend what I was suggesting 226

John J. Lamb

and she blanched a little. “Then, Pastor Marc had contacted Lorraine before the auction and she was there at the church to pick up the bear. Oh my God . . . he never planned to take the bear to Harrisonburg. He and Thayer were going to sell it directly to her.”

“Or something like that. I’m not going to pretend I understand all the details, but there was some very important reason he didn’t want Ewell to know what happened to Thayer. The thing that threw the monkey wrench into the works was Trent’s deciding to play Jesse James.”

“And the only reason Trent would steal the bear was if someone told him it was valuable,” Tina added. “And the only way he could know
that
is if Thayer told him at the time of the robbery—”

“Exactly, and if Thayer didn’t know who the buyer was, then the Holcombes would have had to contact Poole to let him know they had the bear now and that the deal was still on—but with a few minor revisions.”

“Such as Poole’s cut going from fifty percent down to a three-way split.”

“If it was even that generous,” I said with a bitter laugh.

“So, what you’re saying is that the Holcombes and Poole got together and sold the Mourning Bear to Lorraine Cleland.” Ash’s eyes were brilliant with anger. “And you know what? It probably happened earlier today. That would explain why she was late and then so distant with me when she got here. She must have been told that we were investigating.”

“That scenario fits the facts best, honey.”

“What a bunch of scheming monsters. When are you going to talk to Pastor Marc?”

“Just as soon as we have a game plan. Why?”

“Because I’m coming with you. I want to give that creep a piece of my mind.”

“Absolutely you’re coming with me, but you’ll have to The Mournful Teddy

227

wait until the end of our chat with the good reverend to blast him.”

“Why is that?”

“Because, with your permission of course, I’m going to use you as a twist. Your presence will motivate him to talk and tell me all sorts of wonderful lies that I can later use to ram down his throat and eventually get to the truth.”

“How will me being there do that?”

“Honey, I know you don’t believe me, but Poole’s got a serious case of the hots for you and he won’t be able to help himself. He’ll be compelled to show you that he’s a super genius and in order to do that, he has to show off as he outwits me.”

Ash looked doubtful. “Brad darling, I’ve told you this before: I’m certain Pastor Poole just thinks of me as an old friend.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Tina laughed in disbelief.

“Everybody in town knows that Poole has done nothing but talk about you since you came back. And he was probably the one that started the rumor . . .”

“What rumor?” Ash demanded.

“That . . . well, maybe this isn’t the time.”

“
What
rumor?”

“Okay, but I want you to understand I never believed it. The story is that, once when Brad was at a doctor’s appointment over in Harrisonburg, you invited Poole over to visit, but that he told you no because it wouldn’t be right.”

“Oh,
really
?” Ash’s eyes enlarged to the size of Ping-Pong balls and her hands curled into fists. Then she turned to me. “Brad, I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you and I promise I’ll maintain my composure in the interview with that rotten dirt-bag as long as you think it’s necessary. But after that . . .”

I took her hand. “After that, he’s yours to abuse. Now, 228

John J. Lamb

let’s get back to our action plan. Once we finish interviewing Elmer Gantry we’ll go over and interrogate the Holcombes and that brings us to a problem.”

“What’s that?” asked Tina.

“We need to lock Holcombe and Trent into statements that they can’t deny later, which means secretly recording the conversation.”

“Can we do that?”

“I can’t as a private citizen. However, you as a peace officer can and you can also authorize me to do so as your official agent.”

“Okay, you’re authorized, but that still doesn’t solve our problem.”

“I know. Do you have a micro-cassette recorder?”

“No.”

“Probably just as well. I’d have to put it in my pocket and even then it would be almost impossible to conceal.”

“How about a cell phone?” Ash said. “We could call Tina at a number with a recorder attached to the line.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” I said.

“But you’d have the same problem as with the cassette recorder. The Holcombes might see the phone was on.

Besides, the cell phone reception is lousy in there.” Tina shook her head. “So what do we do?”

“We call our local expert in espionage.” I pulled the telephone from my pocket and pressed the number for Sergei’s restaurant.

Sergei picked up on the fourth ring. “Pinckney’s Brick Pit, how may I help you?”

“Hello, I’m looking for the Red Menace.”

“Speaking. Hello, Bradley, and I want to congratulate you on whatever campaign of terror you’re running. The sheriff and Trent both came back to the station about a half-hour ago and then they stood out in front of the building arguing before going inside.”

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“Are they still there?”

“So far.”

“Good. Hey, I’ve got an Aquarium pop-quiz question,”

I said, and Ash and Tina exchanged puzzled looks.

Sergei made an amused sound in the back of this throat. “It’s a shame I don’t know anything about tropical fish, but go on.”