Blue Moon Rising: A suspense thriller (2 page)

“I can see where your mind is.”

Dan snapped his head back sharply and pointed a finger at Billy Bob.

“Don’t even go there.”

Dan walked over to his squad and got in quickly. He turned on the engine and sped off down the dusty trail. He picked up the radio.

“Mac, I’ll be stopping by Murphy’s. If something comes up, Billy Bob will be back on patrol in fifteen minutes.”

The crackling of the radio was all Dan heard. He tapped the radio with his finger, but still there was static.

“Are you there, Mac?”

“Yeah,” the voice on the other end finally came on. “Can’t a guy take a potty break around here.”

Dan looked at the radio and mimicked an old woman jabbering.

“Anything I should know?”

“Mabel Wilcox on Old Mill Road called to say she’s missing a flock of geese.”

Dan rolled his eyes. Ever since Kay passed away eighteen months ago he had become the target of every single woman in the county. Mabel was widowed five years ago and was twelve years his senior, but that did not stop her from trying to get him out to her farmhouse every chance she got.

“If you can’t reach Conroy then send Billy Bob,” Dan said, laughing to himself.

“She ain’t going to be happy. She asked for you personally.”

Dan raised his eyebrows. These were the perks for being the sheriff. He could be selective on the calls he went on. He had no problem doing his job but when it came to the lonely ladies of the county, the sight of Conroy or Billy Bob was like a cold shower. Everyone knew both deputies were married.

Dan finally responded to Mac. “Then it can’t be that serious.”

“She has a big farm, you could be set for life,” Mac said.

“Shut up.”

Mac laughed before continuing. “Just telling it like it is,” he joked.

“This is the third time this month she’s concocted something to get me out there.” Dan hesitated for a moment before continuing. “It’s Conroy or nothing. Over and out!”

Dan put the radio back in the cradle. He stepped on the gas and knew what he had to do next was not going to be as easy as holding the women of the county at bay.

* * *

Dan would have liked to send Conroy to handle the hog problem, but given his history with Felix Murphy he felt it was important for him to handle this call personally.

When Dan saw the mailbox he put on his blinkers and then put his radio on his shoulder clip. Before he could stop the squad Felix Murphy rushed out of the farmhouse and almost tripped on the old coon dog at the bottom of the porch steps. Felix hurried over to the squad as Dan slowly got out. The old, fat coon dog slowly got up and walked lazily over to Dan. The dog sniffed Dan’s leg and then walked back to the bottom of the porch step without an inclination to bark or alert his master. He just curled up in the same spot he was in moments earlier.

Felix snapped. “It’s about time. What took you?”

Dan shook his head. “You’re not the only one with trouble today. There’s been a murder up near the tall pines.”

Dan glanced around. Felix’s land butted up to Senator Maxwell’s. He knew there had been trouble between the two. Felix had a tendency not to get along with people. It was something he did well and with little effort.

Dan turned to Felix. “Did you see or hear anything suspicious last night, maybe around ten?”

“Ten o’clock?” Felix laughed. “That’s two hours past my bedtime.”

“A body was found up near the tall pines.”

“Not on my land?” Felix said defensively.

“No, it wasn’t on your land. But that doesn’t mean that maybe you didn’t hear someone driving by. The car would have had to pass by your place.”

“I said I was sleeping, or weren’t you paying attention? I might as well be dead for all you care.”

“It isn’t the same and you know it. I listen to everyone,” Dan quickly added. “Mac says you have a hog problem.”

“Hogs? Them’s razorbacks in those woods,” Felix snapped, not believing Dan’s indifference.

Felix pointed to the tree line in the distance, in the opposite direction that Dan had just come from.

“Are you sure?” Dan asked.

“I know the difference. These ain’t no puny little pigs. The biggest one has got to go at least three-fifty, if not more.”

“From what I hear they are mean buggers,” Dan said, looking concerned now.

“They killed my best milker last month. Mutilated the poor animal,” Felix paused for a moment. “Last night they took down my prize heifer.”

Dan shook his head while rubbing his chin. “Felix, I don’t know what you expect. I can’t form a posse to go after pigs.”

“Razorbacks,” Felix corrected.

“Okay, I’ll give you that.”

Felix in frustration turned and walked away but then turned back to Dan and shook his fist at him. Dan knew by the look on Felix’s face that this was not going well. He always had a hard time dealing with him and this was no different.

“I’m just supposed to wait?”

“Maybe you could gather up a couple of your neighbors and go after them.” Dan looked around. “But don’t go alone.”

Felix raised his hands. “This is the kind of protection my tax dollars get me?”

Dan looked in disbelief. “I’m in the middle of a murder investigation. What do you want me to do?”

Felix laughed and then responded sharply, “Your job!”

“I can’t argue with you over this.”

“You’re going to just walk away?”

“I told you what you could do. I’m sure Gordon down the road would go with you to get those hogs.”

“He ain’t talking to me.”

“Yeah and whose problem is that? Christ, Felix, you alienate everyone.”

“Is that any way to talk to one of your bosses?”

“Don’t pull that crap on me. I’ve got a job to do and standing here talking to you about your hog problem isn’t getting it done.”

“I can hardly wait for the next election.”

“Hey, you go for it. Hell, why don’t you just run against me?”

Dan was losing his temper with Felix and it was getting him nowhere fast.

“I might just do that,” Felix snapped.

Dan turned and walked away before he said something he might regret. It was always that way with Felix. He always seemed to bring out the worst in Dan.

“I got to get going. I’ll check back in a couple of days. If you still haven’t tracked them down, I’ll go out with you.”

Felix was already up the porch steps but managed to yell back at Dan, “Don’t do me any favors.”

Dan got into the squad and quickly started the engine and sped off down the road. He turned on the radio and listened to some music while trying to put Felix Murphy out of his mind.

CHAPTER 2

Dan pulled onto the highway. He tapped his finger to the beat of the music. He liked old time rock ‘n’ roll. It always had a beat you could dance to. He used to take Kay dancing on Saturday night for their date night. He sure missed those date nights. He also missed the time they had together. As much as the women in the county pursued him, there was no one around who came near to replacing her.

In the distance Dan saw Junior Youngblood, a simple-minded Indian boy in his late teens, walking along the shoulder of the road. Junior turned as the squad car approached and then he started running and veered awkwardly onto the roadway. His behavior was not normal and caused Dan to step on the gas and take chase, but when Junior veered into the brush, Dan quickly stopped the squad and took chase on foot.

Dan almost caught Junior when he tripped and fell, angering himself. Dan quickly got up and brushed off his pants. He continued his pursuit. Junior zigzagged through the open field allowing Dan to catch up to him. He was about to grab Junior when Junior suddenly stopped and turned around, taking a wild swing at Dan, which caught him broadside, sending Dan to the ground. But being simple-minded, Junior just stood there for the longest time not doing anything more. It was when Dan started to get up that Junior took off running again. He ran into the thicket of thorns causing his shirt to get torn. Dan reached for Junior and grabbed him by the collar. Once he had hold of him Dan swung him off balance and Junior tumbled to the ground. Dan quickly straddled Junior, grabbing his hands and then cuffed them in back.

Dan stood up, trying to catch his breath. He bent down for a moment and just stared at Junior on the ground. It was then he saw the red stains on Junior’s shirt, it definitely looked like blood not paint, but whose blood was the question now.

Dan searched Junior closely, looking for a cut that would explain the blood.

“You hurt yourself, Junior?” Dan asked.

“Don’t know what you mean,” Junior replied.

“You’re a mess,” Dan said, looking Junior over more thoroughly.

Dan was still panting hard. It was hot out and a morning run was definitely something he did not need. Dan always managed to stay fit but running was never his cup of tea.

“I didn’t do nothin’.”

“No one said you did.”

Dan touched Junior’s shirt. It was soaked through to the skin with blood. Dan wiped his face with the back of his hand where Junior struck him to see if there was blood, but looking at his hand, Dan could see none that would account for what was on Junior’s shirt. Dan was puzzled as he reached down to help Junior up.

“Where have you been?” Dan asked.

Junior struggled with Dan. “You can’t pin it on me. I didn’t do it.”

“That isn’t what I asked.” Dan paused as he looked at Junior’s shirt again. “You got a lot of blood on that shirt of yours. Want to tell me what happened?”

“It wasn’t right,” Junior said.

Junior quickly head-butted Dan, catching him off guard. He attempted to run, but Dan recovered too fast and tripped Junior, causing him to fall into the thick underbrush scratching his face and neck.

Dan always felt sorry for Junior. He was a year older than Kelly, so he was able to watch him grow up through the years. Other kids picked on him because he was slow and seemed to tower over the other kids his age. From a young age on, one could tell Junior was a few cards short of a full deck. But he was harmless. No matter how much the other kids teased him, he never lost his temper. But it always concerned Dan that when he got older maybe the boy would come to realize he was the butt of many jokes and finally would stand up to the bullies.

Dan guided Junior down the ditch back to where the squad was parked. Junior tripped a few times, but Dan caught him and steadied his footing.

“You got some explaining to do.”

“I didn’t do it! Honest, Sheriff, you got to believe me.”

Dan took a deep breath. “Would you just shut up?”

Dan spun Junior around so they were face-to-face. “You got blood on your shirt.” Dan pointed to Junior’s chest. Junior looked down as if not knowing what Dan was talking about.

“What do you mean,” he said with a puzzled look on his face.

Dan grabbed Junior’s shirt and yanked his shirt up so Junior could see what he was talking about. They stood there along the side of the road next to the squad as cars sped by.

“This blood. God damn it!” Dan snapped. He did not care how slow Junior was. There was no way he could not know where the blood came from.

Junior froze when he saw the blood. In fact he appeared frightened once he saw the red stain. Junior shrunk from Dan as if shielding himself.

“Please don’t hurt me. I be good.”

Dan just shook his head and then grabbed hold of Junior by the arm and dragged the protesting youth to the squad car. Dan opened the back door and shoved Junior into the backseat.

Dan struggled to keep in mind that he could not wear a father’s hat in this situation. He was the sheriff. Right now, he had a murder to solve where the victim had lost a lot of blood, and now he had a young man in his squad with a lot of blood on his shirt that he could not explain. For him, Junior was his prime suspect. No matter how simple-minded he was. That did not mean he did not have the wherewithal to pull this off. There had to be a point where any human being fights back after years of being put down. Now he had to find out Junior’s relationship with Jason.

Dan glanced at Junior cringing in the backseat. It was hard for him to envision Junior doing that to Jason though. Maybe it could have happened in the heat of the moment, but he did not think Junior had that kind of anger in him.

Junior cowered on the other side of the backseat. He looked like a caged animal and Dan’s heart went out to him in that moment. But Junior was not going to make it easy for Dan.

“I’m not talking to you. You’re mean to me.”

Dan shook his head. “Junior, pipe down. You’re giving me a headache.”

Dan climbed into the driver’s seat. He started the engine and quickly spun off down the road.

CHAPTER 3

Dan pulled up to the Sheriff’s office with its adjacent jailhouse. It had been built a century ago, and given the low crime rate in the county it was hard to justify building a new jail. There were four cells in the back and the majority of the time they were empty except for the day after payday at the mill when his men picked up a few drunks who did not have enough brains to stop drinking when they had had enough.

Dan got out of the squad and then opened the back door. Junior was still cowering in the opposite corner causing Dan to have to go in after him. Junior decided to be difficult and started kicking at Dan. His feet thrashed around, hitting their mark a few times until finally Dan managed to grab hold of Junior’s pants’ cuff and then dragged him out of the squad onto the pavement.

“You ain’t making this easy on yourself,” Dan snapped.

“Mean man,” Junior said, trying to roll away.

“You are a piece of work.”

Dan grabbed hold of Junior by his arms that were still cuffed behind him. “Now get up and stop fighting me.”

“You mean!”

Dan shook his head—because if Junior really wanted to see his mean side he could show it to him. As it was, Dan was handling Junior with kid gloves. Under normal circumstances, Dan would not have had as much patience. But he felt sorry for Junior. He honestly did not think Junior had the mental capacity to kill a fellow human being, let alone a fly. Not the way Richie was killed. Moreover, how would he get the body to the tall pines? Dan did not think Junior had a driver’s license, he always saw the boy walking to places. Then there was also the way Richie was tied up. Richie had knife wounds, but the fact he was tied the way he was, gave Dan the impression that Richie was still alive when he was left in that swamp. The more he struggled to free himself the more the noose around his neck tightened, causing his airway to be cut off. Not a pretty way to go. Whoever did that wanted the boy to suffer.

Dan guided Junior into the Sheriff’s office. Mac was sitting at the radio, where he always seemed to be. Mac Freeman was in his late sixties and well past retirement age, but refused to quit. Besides the pittance the county paid him no one was complaining because no one would take the job for the wages offered if Mac did give it up. Mac had become a fixture. He glanced up from the magazine he was reading and just stared at Dan and Junior as they walked in.

“It’s going to be another hot one,” Mac said, wiping the sweat off his brow.

“Tell me about it.”

“How was the vacation?”

“Not long enough,” Dan shrugged.

Dan shoved Junior over to the rack where the keys were on the pegboard. He reached up and took the cellblock key and stuck it into his shirt pocket.

“County womenfolk missed you.”

“Not you, too.”

“No shit, all of a sudden there weren’t any calls from the single women in town. It’s like all was right in the world. No loose geese on the run, no strange noises in the night. You got to go on vacation more often to give us guys a rest.”

“Very funny,” was all Dan could muster up to say.

Dan glanced over at Mac as he quickly hid the girlie magazine he had been reading. Dan raised his eyebrows and laughed to himself.

“Get Junior a shirt,” Dan said, motioning to Junior.

Mac opened his bottom drawer and pulled out an old T-shirt he kept there for when he watched the drunks on Saturday night. They never seemed to care on who or where they heaved. Mac handed Dan the T-shirt.

“Good, I want the one he was wearing checked for DNA at the crime lab.”

“You think he’s involved in the murder of that Ames boy?”

Dan shook his head. “He’s too simple-minded to do something that gruesome.”

“Then why bother?”

“If that’s Richie’s blood, Junior may know who did it. I want to make sure all the bases are covered.”

Dan held up the T-shirt. “Yeah, should fit.”

“Oh, before I forget, there’s a bunch of messages for you.” Mac handed Dan the pad.

Dan took the pad and flipped through it quickly and laughed. He then tossed all of them into the wastebasket.

“Mabel wasn’t happy with Conroy,” Mac added quickly.

“I thought it was her geese she wanted.”

“You know what she wanted. Conroy is married with three kids and a fourth one on the way.”

“Did Conroy find her geese for her?”

“Yeah, but now she claims they’re traumatized by the experience.”

Dan rolled his eyes while shaking his head. He took the shirt, pulled the key out of his pocket, and guided Junior through the door that led to the cellblock.

“You got your pick, Junior.”

“I want my daddy,” Junior responded, almost crying.

“Mac will call him for you.”

“Me don’t like you.”

“Junior you know me. I’m Kelly’s father. You went to school with her.”

“I like her. She my friend. You not my friend.”

Dan shoved Junior along, as he was reluctant to enter the cell.

“I be good.”

“It’s not a matter of being good. Right now I want to keep you safe until I can sort things out.”

“I go home,” Junior said as he tried to slip away, but Dan grabbed him from behind and pulled him along.

Dan uncuffed Junior and then quickly opened the cell door. But Junior grabbed onto the bars and hung onto the outside of the cell. Dan struggled with him to release his fingers.

“Junior, let go.”

“I go home. I no like it here.”

Dan finally loosened Junior’s fingers and shoved him into the cell.

“Now give me your shirt.”

“My shirt?” Junior hugged his shirt.

“It’s ripped and dirty, Junior. I want to send it out to get cleaned.”

When Junior glanced down he saw the holes and the blood. He quickly pulled the shirt over his head and handed it to Dan.

“Shirt dirty. Need it cleaned,” he remarked. “Daddy going to be mad, my shirt has a hole in it.”

“I’ll give it to Mac to have it cleaned, maybe we can have the holes mended.”

“Mac fix my shirt? Daddy won’t be mad.”

Junior quickly put on the clean shirt. He looked at Dan and then smiled.

“Daddy won’t be mad at me for getting my shirt dirty now?”

“How did you get it dirty?”

Junior walked over to the bunk and huddled into the corner. “I don’t want to talk about it. It wasn’t my fault.” He started rocking and mumbling incoherently.

Dan shook his head, not wanting to deal with Junior any longer. Maybe later after a few aspirins he could deal with him, but not right now. He walked out of the cellblock and back to the office. Mac was on the radio and when he saw Dan he quickly cut off. Dan walked over to the desk and looked at the stack of mail. He finally turned to Mac.

“Do you know anything about the new medical examiner?”

“Wondered when you’d get around to her.”

“It isn’t what you think.”

“Billy Bob says she’s pretty.”

“I only saw her the one time and there was a dead body on the ground.” Dan hesitated a moment, pretending to read a memo lying on the desk. “I hardly took notice of what she looked like.”

“She’s not married, if that’s what you want to know?”

Dan quickly looked up as he was definitely interested in that little tidbit of information. It was the sign that Mac was waiting for.

“Not anymore at least.”

“You sure about that?” Dan asked. As much as he did not want to appear interested, he wanted to know more about her and Mac was the one person who always knew the latest town gossip.

“She was married to some high-powered lawyer in Little Rock.” Mac laughed before continuing. “Turns out he was providing more than legal services to his clients. If you know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t know what you mean?” Dan asked, trying to look ignorant as to what Mac was saying.

“Well, word has it he went both ways. He wasn’t choosy about who he bedded down with.”

“How long?” Dan asked.

“How long has he been screwing the clientele?” Mac asked, looking puzzled for a moment. “How in the hell should I know?”

“No! How long has she been divorced?”

“Not long enough to make her forget what jerks some men can be.”

“Explains her attitude.”

“Billy Bob said she took a liking to you.”

“You two gossiping old women.”

“You should hear what they’re saying about her over at the hardware store,” Mac laughed, and could tell Dan was interested in hearing more.

“Whom did she tangle with?”

“Mind you, this is only rumor,” Mac motioned Dan to come closer. “Jackson over at the bank made some remark to her the other day. The way I hear it, she chewed him a new asshole.”

Dan laughed. “Jackson was always crude when it came to the ladies.”

“You going to try your luck?”

Dan shook his head. “I like my life just fine the way it is. Kelly and I manage.”

“Kelly ain’t going to be around forever.”

“She has three years till college and right now I have my hands full.”

“Kay has been gone two years now. It’s about time you start living again.”

“It’s been eighteen months.”

“Well almost two years. Besides, it was an accident, nothing you could have done to prevent it. I don’t think she’d want you living like a hermit.”

Dan ignored Mac for a moment and walked over to the desk. “Don’t forget the shirt.”

“You want me to have her pick it up?” Mac asked with a big grin on his face.

“No! On your way out for lunch you can drop it off. Tell Ms. Davie I’ll stop by to get the report on Richie Ames later today.”

Without saying another word, Dan got up and then walked over to the door and hurried out. He didn’t want to sit and listen to Mac talk about Nancy any longer. The less he knew about her situation, the better he liked it.