Cause for Murder (17 page)

Sam quickly rehashed what he'd told Jennifer about the box of pictures in Lilly's room. “Man, it made me feel like I'd ventured into a person's personal domain. I've felt bad all day."

"Don't let it get under your skin,” Hawkman said. “The woman kept them for her own protection. If she ever has to go to court over Burke's death, she has proof the beatings occurred."

Sam put his head in his hands. “They were horrible. She looked like some monster with swollen eyes. Her face all puffy and blood running out the corners of her mouth.” He shuddered. “How could any man do that to a woman, much less his wife?"

Jennifer reached over and touched Sam's shoulder. “Unfortunately, there are a lot of sick people in this world. I'm afraid Burke Parker was one of them."

"I didn't see all the pictures. I didn't want to. But they also affected Maryann. I've never seen her cry, but she actually shed tears when she looked at them."

"What did she do with the photos?” Hawkman asked.

"I don't know. She put everything into the box, then left the room telling me she would find a safe place to store them."

"At least she didn't throw them away."

Sam shook his head. “Oh, no, I didn't get that impression at all. In fact, she seemed very pleased her mother had taken the shots."

"Are you going back there tomorrow?"

"Yeah,” he said, flopping back on the couch. “I want to get that place finished real soon. I'd like to relax the rest of the summer. This whole ordeal is driving me nuts."

"Did you by any chance see the car again that followed you and Richard?"

"No. Did you hear anything from Detective Williams?"

"Nope. But I did a little sleuthing. I know where Maduk works and I hope to find out more tomorrow."

Sam's eyes grew big. “Where?"

"He works for the Indian Casino Company and travels from one establishment to the other in this area and collects reports, then takes them to the head office in Medford."

"Did you see him?” Jennifer asked.

"No. And it won't be easy, as he's not on any fixed schedule. I doubt seriously if I can get that information out of the head office, as they keep his comings and goings pretty well under raps."

Sam frowned. “That sounds like a high-ranking job. He must have some sort of a security clearance."

"He could very well have cleared for one. There's no blemish on his record."

"But you told me he killed a man,” Sam said.

"The tribe took care of it. He was never written up in our police records. So when he applied for a job that never showed up. And we only heard about it through word of mouth. So it could never be proven in a court of law. It's all considered hearsay."

Sam rubbed his hands across his face. “This whole thing about Maduk is mighty complicated."

Hawkman nodded. “I definitely agree."

Sam received a text message on his cell phone from Richard stating he wouldn't be able to help him the rest of the week because of work at the stable, but he'd pick him up early Saturday morning. Sam groaned at the thought of being alone with Maryann for the next couple of days. But he'd brought this mess on himself and couldn't blame Richard. He'd work hard at getting everything painted on the inside, then maybe they could finish the whole job by the weekend.

Thursday morning, on his way to Medford, Hawkman received a call from Detective Williams.

"More Parker reports arrived from the lab. You might want to stop by. I think you'll find them pretty interesting."

"I'll be there within thirty minutes."

Anxious to see the information, Hawkman pushed down the accelerator. He parked in a visitor space at the police station and hurried inside. When he reached the detective's office, Williams motioned for him to have a seat as he poured them a cup of coffee. When the detective sat down at his desk, he pushed a folder toward Hawkman.

"Take a gander at this. You're not going to believe it."

Hawkman took a sip of the hot brew, then opened the file. After reading for several minutes, he glanced up. “Paraquat? My God, that's potent stuff."

"Thought you'd find it interesting. They found traces around the tissues of his mouth. And toxic reactions were apparent in his lungs, liver, kidneys, the lining of his stomach and intestines."

Hawkman leaned back in the chair. “I had a vicious case in the Agency involving paraquat. It's a herbicide for weed and grass control. Classified in the States as “restricted use” and can only be purchased by those who are licensed applicators. The US adds a blue dye and a sharp odor to serve as a warning. Yet, this report indicates it was in the original form."

Williams leaned forward on his elbows and laced his fingers into a pyramid “How the hell do you think someone got hold of the undoctored stuff?"

Hawkman shoved back his cowboy hat with his forefinger. “It could have been smuggled in from Mexico. We have lots of foreign gardeners in the area."

Williams nodded. That's possible. Its brown coloring could easily be mistaken for soda or coffee. Or any other brown liquid, as far as that goes."

"Did they find any traces of it on the eating or drinking utensils you found in the motel room?"

"Not yet, but the lab noted, since they've identified the poison, it won't take long to run tests on the other items we shipped. We should get those reports within a day or two."

Hawkman placed the papers back into the file. “I imagine with Burke Parker being in such poor health, it probably hit him like a bomb."

The detective sighed. “Yep. I doubt he suffered long."

"Think I'll do a little research on the computer and see what else I can find out about this herbicide.” Hawkman stood and stuck his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans. “Let me know when you get the other reports. I'll be interested to see if those utensils show any traces. My gut tells me they will.” He tapped the back of the chair with his fingers. “Appears you have a murder on your hands."

"Yep, sure looks that way."

Hawkman left the police station and drove to his office. Once inside, he immediately booted up the computer and linked to Google where he typed in paraquat. Years ago, while still in the Agency, he remembered a big debate over this toxin because they found it in marijuana smuggled into the States from Mexico. The US eventually banned the use of this particular herbicide for destroying marijuana fields in the United States.

A long controversy brewed about banning paraquat for all purposes, but to this day no action has been taken. At least they'd placed serious restrictions on the poison. Hawkman studied several reports, but didn't come across anything he didn't already know. He printed out a couple of recent articles and put them in a file.

Leaning back in his chair, he tapped his chin with his pencil and tried to figure out how someone could have administered the poison to Parker. Like Jennifer said, anyone in this town might have done it, since no one liked the man. But he wanted to narrow the number of suspects. He'd start by finding out where Parker had been the days before his death, where he'd eaten, and from which liquor store he bought his booze.

The motel where they found Parker's body was akin to a cheap boarding house. He paid by the week and had no maid service. Williams had questioned the head man, who'd stated he didn't know a thing about Parker other than he paid his bill up front and didn't bother any one. Since the place had no vacancies, the manager didn't hang around, and knew nothing of his patron's visitors.

The detective had also talked to the neighbors. They were all drifters or loners and had no idea when Parker came and went. In fact, some didn't even know what the man looked like.

Sam had mentioned the only reason Lilly stayed married to Burke was for the money he gave her every month. So, he must have done some sort of work as he couldn't pay his rent, keep up his booze habit, and still give his wife money on what little he received through a disability check. Parker more than likely did odd jobs and Lilly probably had no idea where he got his money since the two were on such bad terms. She just took it and ran.

The Indian also aroused his interest. His gut told him Maduk was somehow involved in the whole scenario. He'd like to meet him face to face and ask a few questions. A thought struck him and he rummaged through his pockets. He finally found the slip of paper Rainwater had given him with the casino headquarters’ location, but no phone number. Hawkman pulled the directory from the desk drawer, found the listing and punched it in.

Figuring salaries were paid weekly, he took a chance. “Hello. What time will the paychecks be ready? Thank you."

"Now if the rest could be so simple,” Hawkman said aloud. Tomorrow's going be a busy day, he thought.

He worked for a couple of hours on other cases, then checked his watch. He wanted to make sure he left in time to swing by the Parker place, just in case Sam got detained and couldn't leave before dark. He felt uneasy about the boy's safety until he learned more about the black Buick. He could call Sam, but didn't want to give the impression of checking up on him. Young men didn't like parents nosing into their business, their egos were sensitive. Hawkman knew if he casually dropped by, he could use the excuse of wanting to see how much they'd accomplished.

He left the office and arrived in Yreka within an hour. When he drove by the Parker house and saw no sign of Sam's pickup, he headed home. Pulling into the driveway, it relieved his mind to see the small truck beside the house. Sam sat at the kitchen bar with a whopping sandwich on a plate and glanced up grinning.

"I'm starved. Forgot to eat today."

"Well, you seem to be in a much better mood than last night."

"Oh, yeah. Things went real good. While I painted Mrs. Parker's bedroom and bath, Maryann prepared her room for tomorrow. It worked out great. Once I get the inside finished, then Richard and I can concentrate on the outside this weekend. Hopefully we'll wrap up the job Sunday night."

"Glad to hear it. That'll give you a few weeks before you have to return to school."

"Did you find out anything today?” Sam asked.

"Eat and then we'll talk.” He glanced over at the empty computer center. “Where's Jennifer?"

"I think she's done some fishing today. She's on the dock securing the umbrella and picking up her gear."

Hawkman strolled over and opened the sliding glass door. “Need any help?” he called.

She waved him off and walked up the gangplank with her pole, fishing creel and a big smile.

"You look mighty content. Did you have some luck?"

"Yes, I caught a twenty inch trout. It's in the refrigerator."

"Hey, that's great."

"What a fighter. I had so much fun bringing in that fish. He jumped out of the water several times. I thought I'd lost the little sucker when he leaped up the last time, but I hurried and got the net under him before he shook the hook."

Hawkman hung her rod on the porch rack, then put his arm around her shoulders as they went inside. “Wish I'd been here to share the excitement."

"What?” Sam asked between bites.

Jennifer took the fish from the refrigerator and showed off her catch, then told Sam about how hard the trout fought until she'd won the battle.

Sam munched a few chips. “Fantastic. I'm bound and determined to do some fishing before the summer's over. Hope I have your kind of luck.” He then turned to Hawkman. “Okay, what'd you learn today?"

Jennifer jerked up her head. “You didn't say you had any news."

Hawkman hung his hat on a peg in the corner along with this shoulder holster. “I enjoyed your story a lot more.” He took a beer from the refrigerator and sat down at the kitchen bar. Jennifer climbed onto the stool next to him.

"Appears Burke Parker was murdered."

Sam awoke early Friday morning, rolled over and covered his head with his pillow. He sure didn't look forward to going to the Parker's after what Hawkman had told him and Jennifer last night. He'd heard about paraquat in one of his history classes where they'd touched on the agriculture of the Middle East countries and Mexico. Many people became ill handling this herbicide. Some had died from inhaling it or accidentally ingesting the poison. “Bad stuff,” he mumbled, throwing the covers aside and sitting on the edge of the bed. He picked up his electric razor from the dresser and ran it over his face as he thought about the murder.

He figured Hawkman had already come to the conclusion Mr. Parker had been poisoned after seeing the pictures of the body. Not much got by his dad. He'd bided his time until they discovered what kind of toxicant caused the damage. Sam had the impression though, it'd surprised Hawkman when the report stated Parker had swallowed paraquat, a poison not generally found in a normal household. He remembered Hawkman snooping around the Parker place and assumed his search had been for a substance deadly enough to kill a man.

More questions entered Sam's mind. He wondered if Maryann put the paraquat in Burke's food or drink during the Memorial holiday? Or did Maduk? Her dad could probably find paraquat in its natural form more easily, because of his contact with foreign laborers. Maybe once Maduk acquired it, he'd given it to his daughter and instructed her on its use. The thought sent a chill down Sam's spine.

He ran a hand over his smooth face, then placed the razor back on the dresser. Unplugging his cell phone, he sent a text message to Richard. After dressing in his painting clothes, he clipped the phone to his belt. He threw a clean set of clothes into a duffle bag, opened the door of his bedroom and made his way quietly through the silent house to the kitchen.

Plopping the duffle on the end of the counter, he opened the refrigerator and spotted several of his favorite fruit-on-the-bottom yogurts. Jennifer must have gone shopping yesterday. He grabbed a peach one, threw two pieces of bread into the toaster and poured himself a large glass of milk. After buttering the hot bread, he carried his food to the kitchen bar. Just as he sat down, Hawkman meandered into the kitchen.