The Tamarack Murders (17 page)

Opening the door he growled, “No, Jan, absolutely not!”

She turned to glare at him. “You most certainly will, Bo! You're sheriff of Blight County!”

He slid into his chair. “Every fall Glenn Cliff runs off to the mountains, and I have to hunt him down. Last fall I found him holed up in an abandoned logging camp. He'll know better than to go there again. “He's probably built himself a wickiup somewhere even deeper in the mountains this time.”

“Bo, he's just a kid. He'll die up there. The snow will trap him on some mountain and he won't be able to get out.”

“What's your point, Jan?” he said, earning himself another glare. He studied her, pretending to think about the Cliff boy. She was very nice looking, in a fit and serious sort of way. On the other hand, he was a year older. So was Glen, about thirteen now. The kid spent summers stashing away food and gear up in the mountains, preparing for his yearly getaway in the fall, his escape from school, which bored him nearly to death. This would be Tully's third year of tracking him down. The thought made him shudder.

Jan took a handkerchief out of her purse and dabbed at her eyes.

“Don't cry, Jan. I'll go find the little . . .”

“I wasn't crying, Bo! I just had something in my eye!”

Ah, the old something-in-my-eye ploy. “I only happen to have a bank robbery and five murders to tend with at the moment, so I'll drop everything and go hunt Glen Cliff. But this is absolutely the last time, Jan!”

She smiled. “You say that every year, Bo.”

“I guess I do. This year though, you have to buy me dinner at Crabbs. That's if I find Glen, of course.”

“Bo, I would love to buy you dinner anywhere you name! And any time!”

“How about the Space Needle in Seattle?”

She thought for a moment. “That sounds more like a proposition.”

“I meant it to. How are you and old Darrel getting along these days?”

“Fine, now that we've decided to get a divorce.”

Tully tugged on the corner of his mustache. “That usually helps. You still living together?”

“You're awfully inquisitive.”

“That's part of a sheriff's job.”

Jan laughed, then turned serious. “Do you have any idea where Glen might be?”

“Not the foggiest. We have about ten thousand square miles of mountains in Blight County and he could be hiding out on any of them. But it so happens I ran into him this summer fishing up on Boulder Creek, which as you probably know comes tumbling down out of the mountains north of town. It levels off a couple of miles up the creek and there's a nice meadow there. If I were to run away to the mountains, I think I'd head for the meadow on Boulder Creek.”

“You thought about doing this when you were Glen's age?”

“Then and now.”

Jan smoothed her skirt over her rather nice thighs. “So if you were to take off this minute, Bo, you would head for that meadow?”

He was silent for a few moments. Jan said, “Bo?”

“Sorry. I was just building my self a nice little wickiup on the edge of the meadow. I'd fish the creek and hunt game for food. There's gold in the creek, too. If I had time I might even find the mother lode. It would be a lovely way to live, Jan? You interested?”

“I'll have to think about that, Bo. No!” Jan smiled. “So when do you think you will head off to look for Glen.”

Tully stared at her, then laughed. “As soon as I can catch the next flight to Boulder Creek.”

“You're hopeless, Bo!”

“I know, but I mean it about the flight.”

After Jan left, he walked to the door. “Daisy, see if you can find the number for the Diamond W loggingtruck dispatcher and ask him to patch me through to Pete Reynolds.”

Daisy smiled and shook her head. “I guess Pete can't escape you even when he's out driving loads of logs down a mountain.”

“No one escapes me, Daisy, any time or any place. You know that.”

He walked over to Lurch's corner. “You get any matches on the bullets that did Beeker and Dance.”

“Yeah. They match the forty-five we picked up from Shanks. Susan sent me the bullets recovered from the old couple, too, boss.”

“Great, Lurch! I figured she would.”

“Yeah, but they don't match either pistol found with Beeker and Dance. Maybe they dumped that gun somewhere. The rifle that killed Vergil Stone belonged to Beeker. He was the shooter on Chimney Rock Mountain. At least the rifle that has his prints on it is the same one that shot Vergil. The test slug matches the bullet recovered from the vic's body.”

Tully nodded and pulled up a chair next to the Unit. “Shut down your computer a minute, and I'll give you benefit of my profound thought processes.”

Lurch shut off his computer.

Tully clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “First of all, the old lady in the double-wide was either a Beeker or a descendent of Beekers. She might have known Horace Beeker as some kind of family relation. I suspect most of the Beekers had fallen on hard times since losing the ranch or whatever happened that Beekers no longer own it. The old lady might have suspected that Horace Beeker was hiding out from something or someone. I've got Daisy checking with the corporation that owns the ranch. Somebody will know what the old people were doing there, watching over the mansion or whatever. Maybe Beeker didn't want the woman to identify him and give him up to whoever might be looking for him. So he killed her and the old man just to be on the safe side. Beeker and Dance, of course, didn't want Harold or Alma giving away their hideout, so that, too, could be the motive for killing them. If they needed a motive.”

Lurch nodded. “Sounds about right. I guess if you get started killing, another one more or less doesn't bother you all that much.”

Tully stared at him. “That's why you don't get to carry a gun, Lurch.”

“I thought it was because of my eyes.”

“That too. My opinion is that the main reason Beeker or Dance shot them, hardly anyone knew about the lookout tower on Round Top, and he wanted to keep it that way. The tower made the perfect hideout. They could hang out there until the search for them let up.”

Lurch frowned. “If it was so perfect, how come Beeker and Dance ended up dead?”

“Details, Lurch, details. I'm pretty sure I know who shot them. All we need is some proof.”

“I think we have the proof, boss. The bullets that killed Beeker and Dance match the test bullets I got from one of the pistols you picked up from Shanks.”

Tully nodded. “That's great, Lurch! So we can nail him for two murders, even though he'll probably plead self-defense.”

“I thought so. You going to let me carry a gun now?”

“No.” Tully stared off into space.

“What are you thinking, boss?”

“I'm starting to think converging incidentals aren't merely incidentals. As a matter of fact, I'm headed out to Shanks's place right now.”

Lurch got up to leave. “You going to arrest him?”

“Yeah, I'm going to arrest him.”

“On what charge? Murder?”

“Yes, murder. A double murder. And a convergence.”

Lurch gave him a puzzled look. “A convergence of what, boss?”

“Beats the heck out of me. Just a convergence, Lurch. Maybe a convergence of fingers, all of them are pointing at Gridley Shanks. This all started with the partial fingerprint you turned up on a piece of flagging tape. To explain the flagging tape, Grid said he used it to mark his property so two men could hunt elk there. One of them was Beeker, who said he saw a herd of deer that came through hours before he claimed to be on the mountain. Then the Beeker name led us to the Beeker Ranch and four murdered people, including Beeker and Dance. Then . . .”

“Stop, boss! I get the idea! What did you call it?”

“A convergence. Lines of suspicion that all converge on Gridley Shanks.”

Lurch shook his head. “Too complicated for me, boss.”

“Well, I'm headed out to Shanks place right now to arrest him on suspicion of murdering Beeker and Dance.”

T
he road leading into Shanks's house was still bright yellow with fallen needles from the tamarack trees. Tully almost hated to drive on it, as if he were somehow desecrating a work of literature. He blinked. Danielle Stone was standing in front of the house, watching him. What was she doing here?

“Danielle!” he exclaimed as he stepped out of the Explorer.

“Hi, Sheriff. I'm here exploring my new property.”

“I don't understand.”

She laughed. “I don't understand either. Grid had his lawyer draw up some legal papers that made the property mine. Believe me, Sheriff, it's not that great a gift. I was trying to figure out what I can get when I sell it. Not that much, I'm afraid.”

Tully look around. “So where are Grid and Sil going to live?”

“I don't know. Maybe Grid will figure that out when he gets back.”

Tully glanced into the woodshed. The ATV was still there. “Get back from where?”

“Beats the heck out of me. He packed up Sil, and she took off on a trip around the world. She should be in Australia by now. Grid's been talking about a round-the-world trip for years, but I never thought he was serious. He should have sent me with her.”

Tully thought about this. After a bit he said, “Yeah, he should have found a way to include his own daughter.”

Danielle frowned at him. “Daughter! What do you mean,
daughter
? That's sick! Grid has been my lover for the past five years. No way I'm his daughter. I know exactly who my parents are!”

Tully leaned against the hood of his Explorer. He had known Grid was a confidence man and a good one, he just hadn't realized how good. He must have come into a fair amount of money recently, sending Sil on a round-the-world trip. Giving his place to Danielle. More lines of convergence. Who ends up with the loot? Who has a motive for killing Beeker and Dance?

Danielle said, “Yeah, Grid's been supporting me and Vergil for years. He brought us groceries and more fruit and vegetables than we could ever eat. I tell you, Sheriff, I'll never eat another banana as long as I live. And he kept Vergil supplied with cash. Said he was starting to think of him as his own son, not that he seemed all that upset when Vergil got killed.”

Tully studied the widow Stone. She looked as if she were perfectly capable of taking care of herself. “Listen, Danielle, if you need any help, just give me a call, okay?”

She eyed him thoughtfully. “You bet, Sheriff. By the way, my friends call me Danny.”

“Danny. I like that.”

Another piece of the Gridley puzzle had fallen into place. There's a bank robbery. Three of the robbers are eventually killed. The loot disappears. Grid suddenly has enough money to send Sil on a round-theworld trip. “By the way, Danielle, do you have any idea how Gridley suddenly came into enough money to pay for a trip around the world?”

She laughed. “Sure. He's rich. He owned houses in town, farms out in the country, all kinds of ranch and grazing land. He sold most of it over the last year. He's at least a millionaire, probably several times over.”

Tully thought about the bank job. He knew places in the world where a person could live in luxury forever just on the money from the bank. He didn't know exactly how much money that was, but enough almost to fill a trash bag.

Danielle said, “Maybe after I unload Grid's stupid place, I'll move to Boise. At least its got some great restaurants.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Oh, by the way. Grid told me to give you the ATV. So it's yours, whenever you want to pick it up.”

Tully stood there, stunned by this announcement. What if Lurch matched the ATV track on the mountain to Grid's machine? He suspected a sinister joke by its absentee owner. This would take some thought. “By the way, Danny, do you have any idea where Grid might be right now? Did he ever mention a particular country he might head for?”

She thought for a moment. “Well, he talked a lot about Australia and all the different birds there. He has a thing about birds, I don't know why. I personally think birds are about as boring as it gets, but for some reason Grid is crazy about them.”

Tully scratched his jaw and stared off into the distance. “So right now, Danny, you think Grid may at this very moment be on a plane headed to Australia?”

“This very moment? Naw. At this very moment he's eating lunch at Slade's. After that he's driving his Caddy to Arkansas. You ever heard of something called an ivory-billed woodpecker?”

“I have. Thank you very much, Danny. I'll see if I can catch up with Grid at Slade's. In regard to the ATV, I couldn't personally accept it. The whole county would interpret it as graft. On the other hand, if it were used in commission of a crime, the department could confiscate it as evidence. But thanks for the offer.”

Slade's was relatively quiet. A group of the usual unemployed were shooting pool in the back. Joey was minding the bar. Shanks was sitting at a table by himself, munching a hamburger with fries. Tully pulled out a chair and sat down across from him.

“Why, hi, Bo,” Shanks said. “What brings you to Slade's this time of day?”

Tully said, “Let me think a minute. Oh, it's you I was looking for, Grid. I might be here to arrest you.”

“Arrest me? For what? You got any kind of evidence I committed a crime, Sheriff?”

“Grid, it's Blight County. I don't need evidence. It's simpler if I do, of course.”

Shanks laughed. “You know me, Bo. I'm always happy to help out the law when I can.”

“Well, let's see. There's the matter of two killings up at Round Top lookout. The victims were shot with a gun we've tied to you.”

Shanks smiled. “That's probably a gun I sold to a fellow passing through. He shot somebody in a lookout, you say? I have no idea who it could have been. Maybe he was in on the bank robbery with Dance and Beeker. I assume the reason you hunted me down, you found my fingerprints at the scene of the crime.”