Caching Out (21 page)

Fingering
his hat nervously in his hands Martin murmured, “We found him out on the County
Road bordering the Reservation. Jewel, I don’t know any good way to say this
but you need to know. Walt’s death is being treated as a homicide.”

Pushing
away from Curtis, Jewel raised her head to stare at Martin. “You’re saying
someone
killed
Daddy?  I want to see him, take me to him.”

Curtis
spoke up, “Jules, your daddy wouldn’t want you to see him this way. He’d want
you to remember him the way he was. He’d want you to remember that he had a
good life.”

Jumping
up from the couch, Jewel turned on Curtis. “Shut up, Mr. Weston!  Don’t you
dare tell me he had a good life, not when it ended this way.” Her voice broke
and dropped. “It wasn’t supposed to be over yet. Someone stole the years that
he had left…they stole from him and from me.”  Turning to face Martin she asked,
“Who did it Sheriff?  Who killed my daddy?”

Martin
rubbed a hand across his face, “We don’t know yet. We’ve got a full team
investigating.”

Dropping
back on the couch, Jewel wept, “Oh, God, this can’t be happening. My daddy didn’t
have an enemy in the world.” Pushing tears away with the back of one hand she asked,
“Where is he?  Did you take him to the funeral home?”

Martin
cleared the lump from his throat. “Not yet. He’s at the County Morgue and once
they’re finished with the autopsy he’ll be transported to the funeral home.”  He
tried to soften the facts. “The law requires us to have an autopsy in homicide
cases. Royce Wiggins over at the morgue promised to give you a call to let you
know when your daddy’s been moved to the funeral home.”

As
he stood to leave, Martin looked at Jewel, her face was pale and drawn. “Jewel,
I’ll call you as soon as I know something on the case but in the meantime if
you need anything you just give me or Barb a call, okay?”

The
girl nodded.

Martin
pulled into his driveway and went inside where Barbara waited. “Barb, it was
heartbreaking having to tell Jewel about her daddy. That girl thought Walt hung
the moon. I couldn’t even let her see the body, ME’s not through with it and I
don’t really think she needs to see it anyway. It won’t be like looking at the
daddy she remembers. Weston stayed with her, but I told her that she can call
us anytime and we’ll be there for her.” 

Waiting
until Martin wound down, Barbara finally said, “Come on, Martin, I’ve got
dinner ready and after you eat you’re going to go out to the garage and tinker
with that old car of yours. No TV, no radio, just you and your car. Then later
when you come in you’ll have this all straight in your head.” 

Martin
rose and followed her to the kitchen, where he stooped and kissed her cheek as
she sat at the table they’d shared for the last twelve years.

CHAPTER 30

Entering
the State Park, Tate drove his SUV to the faded wooden building that served as
a registration office. Parking in front of the building he turned and grabbed
his hat from the backseat and pushed it down on his head. By the time he’d
locked the SUV, Emma was waiting for him at the door and together they entered
the tiny wooden office. Within a few moments, they had what they came for.

On
the short drive back to town, Emma scanned the copied registration sheets, comparing
them to the pages they’d taken from White’s Lake Lodge. Nothing popped. Looking
up she caught Tate’s eye and shook her head. “Nothing here. Maybe it’s like you
said and the perp didn’t register, or maybe it’s someone who doesn’t have to
register, like an employee.” 

Keeping
his eyes on the road, Tate said, “I thought of that too. The park has a few
paid employees that work full time. They also have a group of volunteers that
help out. The lake only has paid employees and not too many. I already have a
list of everyone who works at the lake, how about you call the park and have
them fax or e-mail us a list of all employees and volunteers and we’ll cross
match that as well?”

Nodding,
Emma pulled her cell out and using the phone number on the letterhead of the
papers, called the park and requested the names. “We should have them on e-mail
by the time we get home.” Silently she cursed and turned to stare out the
passenger side window.
Not your home Emma, and don’t start acting like it is
.

Catching
her faux pas and seeing that she was now beating herself up for it, Tate
reached across the console and pulled Emma’s hand from her lap grasping it in
his own much larger one. With a gentle squeeze he felt her body relax.

The
ringing of Tate’s cell forced him to let go of Emma’s hand. “Echo here.”

“Tate,
this is Daniel Westhaven. Royce asked me to call Martin and let him know that
we’ll have the results from Walt’s post mortem ready in about four hours. I
tried Martin’s office and his cell but didn’t catch him so I thought I’d give
you a call. We just got Walt on the table and we’ve pushed everything else back.
Royce has a lab tech on site and ready to pull any pharmacology or tox reports
that we need stat as well.”

“I
appreciate that Daniel,” Tate said. “You probably caught Martin out of cell
range, but I’ll get in touch with him. Can you deliver the reports to my house
when they’re completed?”

“Sure
thing, won’t be a problem at all. Does Martin need a copy delivered too?”

“No,
I think one will be good. When I talk to Martin I’ll have him come over and
we’ll review the report together. Thanks again.”

Disconnecting
the call with Daniel, Tate pushed a number on his speed dial and listened as
Martin’s phone rang. A female voice came on the line, “Sheriff’s phone,” she
answered. Recognizing Barbara’s voice, Tate said, “Barb, this is Tate Echo. I
need to speak with Martin please.”  Tate listened as the woman talked then
said, “Tell him to give me a call as soon as possible Barb.”  Disconnecting the
call Tate turned and noticing Emma’s quizzical stare, “What?  The man’s in the
shower and his overprotective wife refused to hand him the phone!” 

Laughing
for what felt like the first time in days, Emma joked, “I’m betting that
Martin’s wife is a real bear when it comes to her man.”

Tate
grinned. “I’ll take the bear any day of the week. That woman is vicious when it
comes to protecting Martin.”

Toggling
his blinker, Tate turned into his driveway and pulled the SUV to a stop in
front of the garage.

As
they walked to the porch, Emma asked, “Did Martin ever say if he talked to the
Babcocks?  I still want to know what they took from the cache that day.”

“No
he didn’t say,” Tate mused. “I’m guessing that with Walt being found, it
slipped his mind. I really think you’re off base with that theory, Em.” 

Pushing
the front door open Tate stepped back, allowing Emma to enter when his cell
rang again. “Martin, glad you got back with me so quickly. Daniel says we
should have the ME’s report on Walt in a couple hours, how about you stop by
and we all review it together?  Seven okay?”   

“When
he entered the house, Tate was surprised to find Emma in the kitchen filling a
large pot with water.

“I
thought I’d make us something to eat before the report comes.” Moving the pot
onto a back burner of the gas stove, she bent and watched as the flame came on
and adjusted it down before standing to meet Tate’s gaze. “Now if you’ll just
tell me where you keep the pasta, I’ll get this going while you grab a shower,
if that’s okay?” 

After
showing her where he kept the pasta and a few other essentials, Tate went to
shower.

Ten
minutes later, he marveled at the wonderful smells throughout the house. Making
his way into the living room, he turned toward the kitchen intending to help
Emma, when a knock at the front door stopped him. Thinking it was Daniel with
the report, Tate  pulled the door open and was puzzled when no one was there. A
cardboard box with its top folded corner over corner sat in front of the door. Looking
in both directions Tate didn’t see anyone walking away. A sound from the box
drew his attention and kneeling down, he unfolded the top to reveal a small
yellow dog. He caught movement in the hedge lining the side of his yard, and Tate
raised his eyes without turning his head to see a small boy squatting in the
bushes.

 Reaching
into the box, he gently lifted the puppy and held him in the crook of his arm.
Tate pulled a folded piece of brown paper from the bottom of the box. In blue
crayon someone, probably the same someone hiding in the hedge, had written ‘he
was going to take him to the pound.’  Dropping the paper back in the box Tate looked
at the puppy and spoke loud enough for the child in the bushes to hear.

“No
pound for you. No sir. A good looking dog like you should have a home. I’ll
take real good care of you fella. Of course, if the person who left you here
should ever want you back, I bet we could work something out.” Seeing the
little boy slide further into the hedge Tate turned to go inside before he
noticed Emma standing just outside the kitchen.

Seeing
the puppy, Emma rushed forward, a smile on her face. “Where did you get that?”
she asked, reaching for the tiny bundle of yellow fur.

“Not
positive, but I think a neighbor kid two doors down left him. I found him in a
box on the porch with a note saying he was going to the pound. Poor kid was
hiding in the bushes to see if I’d take him or not.”

Laughing,
Emma brought the puppy’s nose to within an inch of her own. “Now, aren’t you
just about the cutest thing in the world?”

Watching
Emma coo at the puppy, Tate thought what a good mother she would have been. Hugging
the puppy close, Emma moved through the kitchen and into the laundry room,
grabbing a clothes basket and pulling a clean towel from the dryer. “Let me get
this little guy settled, then we can eat. You’re going to need some puppy chow
pretty quick, so maybe we can run into to town before Martin comes.”

Tate
was clearing the dishes off the table while Emma rinsed and put them in the
dishwasher when they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Catching Emma’s
eye, Tate winked. “Hope it’s not another puppy.”  Setting the last of the
dishes on the counter he moved to answer the door. “Hey, Daniel, come on in.”

 “No
time, Chief,” Daniel handed Tate a thick manila envelope. “My youngest has a
thing at the elementary school tonight, and I’ve got to get home and get
cleaned up. Here’s the report on Walt. You can call me or Royce if you have any
questions, but I probably won’t be able to answer until after I leave the
school.”

“Sure
thing. I appreciate you dropping the report off for me.”

“No
problem at all, it was on my way home.” 

Watching
Daniel leave, Tate dropped  the folder on a tall table behind the sofa, “Hey
Em, I’m going to run down to the store and grab some chow for the pup before
Martin gets here. That okay with you?”

Emma
appeared at the opening between the dining area and the living room, drying her
hands on a kitchen towel. “Sure. That was the report?” 

With
a nod he pointed to the unopened envelope on the table before grabbing his keys.
“Fifteen minutes and I’ll be back.”

Watching
Tate go, Emma thought that they almost seemed like a normal married couple.
Don’t
go there Emma. You’re not married to the man. Your time is almost up and you
know it.

Emma
went back to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee, then picked up the pup and
sat at the table to wait for Martin and Tate.

CHAPTER 31

Martin
arrived first. Accepting a cup of coffee from Emma, he sat at the table across
from her. Taking a sip he pronounced, “Good coffee, Ms. Emma.”

Hearing
the front door open, Emma gently placed the puppy back in his basket and went
to pour Tate a cup of coffee. Minutes later, the three officers of their
respective organizations sat at the table reviewing the ME’s report for Walt
Mabry.

Martin
spoke first. “Report says that Walt had a massive heart attack before his
throat was slashed, says that all the cuts were made post-mortem. I’m damn glad
he was gone before the bastard cut him.”

Sipping
his coffee, Tate spoke. “A heart attack is the better way to go. I do wonder
what started the cardiac episode. Could have been fear, or it could have been
the Ketamine. We may not know for sure but he had a pretty big dose of Ketamine
in his system.”

 “Other
than the heart attack, there’s not much here that we didn’t expect to see,
except that Walt wasn’t sexually assaulted,” Emma added.

Martin
shrugged, “Guess he doesn’t like old men.”

Shaking
her head Emma voiced her thoughts, “More likely that he didn’t want to have sex
with a dead man. I bet he was pissed when Walt died before he could follow his
routine.”

Tate
looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’m guessing that he’s going to go after his
next victim pretty quick, since this one didn’t follow the expected pattern.

Emma
stood to refill their cups. “I was thinking the same thing. His signature
process was thrown off balance with Walt dying before he completed his routine
and other than pissing him off, that means he didn’t get the sense of
gratification from the kill.”