beyond the grave 03 - a ghostly demise (18 page)

“I guess I don’t need to ask what that was all about.” Jack Henry held out his arms and I dropped down into them.

The small kitchen wasn’t quite the romantic place I had hoped to be kissing my boyfriend, but if it was all I had, I was going to take it.

Chapter 23

I
t was one of those nights where Jack Henry had decided to sleep over. The alcohol didn’t do the job of relaxing me like it should have, nor did my time spent with Jack Henry.

My mind turned over and over about the murders and how they had to be all connected plus the arson.

Jack Henry did tell me that he finally got his squad car and found Granny at the cemetery, sitting between Earl Way and Granddaddy. He said that he had to tell her to come to the station as a formality, but she wasn’t being charged with murder and her little escape through the square didn’t help matters. It made her look more guilty.

We also talked about the old mill. He said that the land did indeed belong to Leotta and although he couldn’t accuse her of murder since there was no body and no one had suspected Cephus of being dead, he did question her on the arson.

She claimed she hadn’t been out there in years. It was something Cephus took care of. The last time she had gone was when some hippies had been camping in the caves and found the place, making it their home.

Jack Henry said that hippies could’ve been the ones to torch it if they saw me in there. They were good at making bombs and being resourceful. I kept my mouth shut. It sounded like an ignorant statement for him to believe, but he was the cop, not me.

I was also happy to hear that he did talk the Spearses into an autopsy on Digger’s body. That would definitely help clear Granny’s name and the funeral home, making Charlotte Rae happy. Though the results wouldn’t be in for a few days.

In an election, a few days was the whole election. Granny’s chances of winning were becoming slim to none. As much as she told me to hide my crazy, she had hers out on display for the world to see.

I sat in the family room so as not to wake up Jack Henry. He was out of it, happily snoring away. I played with the piece of paper I had taken from Fluggie Callahan’s office, trying to reason with myself on what I was going to say to these bookies.

I dialed the first one.

“Hello,” he answered.

“My friend Cephus Hardy sent me to you.” It sounded like a good way to start to see if he knew Cephus.

“Don’t know him.” The end of the line went dead.

I had heard these bookies were sensitive as to who they worked with. I wondered if Cephus was as lucky as he claimed. Most bookies wanted their clients to lose. Wasn’t that how they made their money?

I dialed the next guy and the same thing happened. Slowly, I dialed the last, hoping and praying he was the one. If he wasn’t, I was going to have to start over and try to find out more about the gambling ring. Maybe stop by to see Dottie Kramer.

“Yeah, what about him?” The bookie on the other end didn’t hang up on me.

“I wanted to make a bet,” I whispered into the phone when I heard Jack Henry make a loud snore and become silent. That was generally when he woke himself up. But the snoring started back up. I continued, “He just gave me your number and said to call. I don’t have the particulars.”

“It’s a five-hundred-dollar up-front fee. Five-hundred-dollar minimum bet and right now I’ve got the high-school basketball teams on the docket.” He was matter-of-fact.

Five hundred dollars?

“Our meet-up place is on the line of Sleepy Hollow and the Watering Hole. Put your cash along with your bet in a gallon plastic Baggie. You walk into the Hole, go to the men’s bathroom, and stick it in the first men’s stall inside the tank at midnight.” He paused. “You got that? Midnight. You sound like a girl so it might be difficult to get it in there, but you women are resourceful. Unless you’re some sort of high-pitched freak.”

“No, I’m a girl. I’ll be there at midnight.” The clock on my wall said it was already eleven thirty. I had to haul ass if I was going to run through the ATM, grab the cash and get to the Watering Hole before midnight.

I tiptoed around my place, trying to get dressed and gather the plastic Baggie and note. I didn’t bother looking at the time because it would have only made me anxious.

I knew I had made pretty good time but didn’t realize how good until I walked into the Watering Hole and looked at the time on my phone. It was ten minutes ’til midnight.

“Here for an ice-cold Stroh’s, are ya?” The bartender pulled a can from his secret Stroh’s stash and already had the lid popped open and sitting in front of an open stool. I moseyed over but not without taking a look around to see who was the bookie. “You are pulling a late one. Is your boyfriend joining you?”

“No.” I eased myself into the saddle. I put the bottle up to my mouth.

“Hot damn!” Cephus scared the shit right out of me and the beer sprayed out of my mouth across the bar, hitting the bartender right in the face.

He grabbed his bar towel and wiped off his face.

“I know that beer isn’t old. I just ordered some new for the just in case.” He eyed me.

“I’m so sorry.” I shook my head and apologized profusely. “I just wasn’t prepared for a fresh one.”

The bartender wasn’t happy and he made his way down the line. The stools were taken, the pool tables were full and the jukebox blared. There were only two empty tables near the stage where the local bands sometimes played but that was it. Who knew the Watering Hole was still hopping this late?

“I know you said not to bother you, but I know the smell of an ice-cold Stroh’s, even from the Great Beyond.” Cephus was in panic mode. He stood across the bar where the bartender was with an eager face.

Slowly, I blew a steady stream of air in front of me. Cephus sucked in all he could, smiling the whole time.

If there was a way I could get him a Stroh’s, I would, but this was going to have to do.

“You want another one?” the bartender asked. I nodded my head yes and pointed to the bathroom. That way he would put the fresh one on the bar to save my seat while I made the drop-off.

There was no way I was going to leave my cash in a toilet bowl for just anyone to take. I was going to see who went in and out of that bathroom and get some answers about the big payoff for Cephus.

I came to the conclusion that men were nasty. How could they not aim into that big round pee bowl? And why was the stall dirty?

I grabbed some toilet paper off the roll and used it to lift up the tank lid. I pulled the Baggie of cash out of the waistband of my jeans and slipped it in the tank, replacing the lid and flushing the toilet paper. Thankfully, no one came in the restroom. I slipped back out and went to my fresh beer.

The time ticked away and not a soul went to the bathroom.

“Honey, it’s 1:00
A.M.
” The bartender put my tab in front of him. “Closing time.”

“But I’m not ready.” I shook my beer to show him there was some left but kept my eye on the bathroom door.

The joint had been cleared. All but me and Cephus Hardy plus the bartender.

I wondered if the bookie had seen me and tried to wait it out until I left.

“Listen, I’m going to clean the bathrooms. You can finish your beer, then you have to go,” he warned, and grabbed a bucket full of cleaning stuff.

“Damn.” Disappointment settled in my gut. I glanced over at Cephus. “I was hoping to meet your bookie tonight. He said you won a bunch of money and I wanted to see if he was the one who could’ve killed you.”

“Nah, he’s harmless.” Cephus shook his head.

The bartender came back after a few minutes. He put the bucket back and turned around.

“You’re going to have to leave now.” He smiled and nodded toward the door.

Reluctantly, I threw my legs over the saddle and started for the door after I stuck the only few dollars to my name on the bill. Then it occurred to me. If the bookie used the Watering Hole, I bet I could ask the bartender. He seemed to know everyone in here.

“Say,” I turned back around. “Do you happen to know the bookie that Cephus used? He uses your first stall as his drop-off.”

Slowly, the bartender turned around. He grinned. My wad of cash in his hands.

“I dee-clare, you’re Hoss.” There wasn’t anything that would’ve shocked me more. “Why didn’t you say something the other night about being a bookie?”

“I told you Cephus had a big payday.” He slid the money across the bar back to me. “And I knew it was you on the phone. So when you just sat here, I figured you were waiting to see who the bookie was.”

I eased my butt back on the saddle, sideways, and was still stunned.

“I ordered more Stroh’s after you came in here because I could tell you weren’t finished with me.” Hoss nodded. “Am I to expect that cop boyfriend of yours too?”

“Nooooo.” I wanted to make it clear that Jack Henry was in no way, shape or form supposed to know I was here. “He would kill me if he knew I was snooping around.”

“Well, you seemed a lot more legit than that reporter that sticks her nose where it doesn’t belong.” He took a glass off the clean stack and pulled the tap of beer, filling it to the top. He took a nice long guzzle. “Ah.” He licked the foam from his upper lip. “After a long day, I allow myself one beer. So what do you know about my buddy?”

“I know that he’s been missing for quite some time and his family is worried.” Now that I knew who the bookie was, I was sure he didn’t have any involvement. “Tell me how this works and how Cephus got involved.”

“Cephus spent a lot of time in here. Just like anything else, he got to know the regulars, then became one.” Between sips of his beer, Hoss used the towel flung over his shoulder to wipe down here and there. “You hear things. Cephus was good at hearing stuff that he shouldn’t have gotten involved in. He started out with the ponies, race cars, then got into the school sports. University of Kentucky versus Louisville, those types of bets.”

“And you just kept letting him stay here and spend his hard-earned winnings instead of take it back to his family?” I knew it was a low blow, but it was true.

Even though Hoss seemed like a fairly nice guy, he was still a con artist.

“I tried to cut him off a few times but he wouldn’t hear of it.” Hoss moved on to cleaning more glasses. “The last bet was his last bet. I told him that.”

“You mean the last bet he’d ever place before he?” I made the knife sign across my neck. “Um . . . disappeared?”

He looked like I had two heads asking such a thing. “The last bet I was ever going to place for him.”

“What was it?” I was curious.

“He knew what he was doing.” He shook his head. “He wanted to place a bet on the state wrestling championship.”

“Wait.” I pulled back. My mind exploded with the past few days and all I had learned about Cephus and his family. “He was betting on his son?”

I recalled the pictures in the newspaper of the state finals and how he lost.

“Wait. You said it was his biggest payday yet.” I gulped. I couldn’t believe the words were about to leave my mouth. Hoss just stared at me. “You mean to tell me, Cephus bet against his own son?”

Slowly, Hoss raised his head, then lowered it.

“Do you happen to know who he wrestled against?” I asked as the fear knotted around my throat, almost choking me.

I probably didn’t need to see what Hoss had to show me because I had already figured it out in my head. Only my heart wished it weren’t true.

Hoss pulled out a sack. “It’s all there. Ten thousand dollars. Plus the article.”

I had never seen ten thousand dollars. I unrolled the top of the bag and peeked in. There it was. All that cash. On top was an article from the Lexington newspaper. I pulled it out.

There was a photo of the winner with a big smile on his face. The headline read,
DIGGER SPEARS WINS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP UPSETTING PREDICTED WINNER
.

“Oh my God. Teddy.” I looked up at Hoss. “Hoss, please trust me with this money. I promise to give it to Cephus’s widow, Leotta.”

“Sure, but why do you think he bet against his own kid?”

“I don’t know, but I think his kid found out about it and killed him.” I grabbed the bag and put the article in it before I rushed out the door.

“Emma Lee, don’t you dare,” Cephus warned me. He ran beside me as I darted out of the Watering Hole and into the parking lot. “Don’t you dare.”

“Don’t you listen to him.” Digger Spears appeared. “Yes, you better. I bet you are right, that the sore loser couldn’t take it that I beat him.”

“Shut up or I’ll take you out right here, right now.” The two of them danced around the hearse.

“Emma Lee, I’m begging you. I don’t care to stay here in the Between as long as my boy, my precious baby boy.” Cephus broke down into a full-out cry. Sobbing.

Digger and I stood there watching him. It was heartbreaking to see a grown man cry. Especially one who had just found out that it was his own son who had murdered him.

“I’m sorry, Cephus. I can’t let him get away with two murders.” I knew in my heart Teddy had also killed Digger Spears. “Digger, your daddy said you hadn’t been back since high school. Was that the last time you saw Teddy?”

He looked up in the air, scratched his head, and said, “You know, you’re right. I haven’t been back and before I left, Teddy told me that if he ever caught me back in Sleepy Hollow, he was going to wring my neck for beating him and embarrassing him like that.”

The more he talked, the more it made sense that Teddy tried to kill me that day at the old mill. How did he know what I was up to?

My phone chirped a text. I grabbed it out of my back pocket and looked to see who it was. If Jack Henry woke up and found me gone, I was going to have some explaining to do.

Cephus and Digger both looked over my shoulder. My hand shook and I immediately got sick to my stomach, right there in the parking lot of the Watering Hole. It wasn’t because I’d had too many ice-cold beers. It was the picture of Granny tied up to her moped and the words that read
Meet me at the mill. Come alone or she goes up in flames just like the mill did.