Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 04 - Awkward Moments (17 page)

Chapter Thirty-two

I watched out the window until I saw car lights coming up the drive past the cottonwoods. I knew it had to be Jimmy because the killer certainly wasn’t going to be that blatant.

Chris walked to the car and met the two men, and they strolled to the house talking among themselves
with the dogs following. Bill came in and settled himself on the sofa, not looking me in the eye.

“What did the doctor say?” I asked.

“He said I have a… He said I’m a very lucky man. The hit rang my bell, but I don’t have a concussion, and he put in a couple of stitches.” He leaned back on the sofa with his legs stretched out in front of him.

“You’re very blessed,” I said. “The same thing happened to Charlie, and he’s dead. I have to say this little plan of yours didn’t work out too well.”

Bill yawned. “It’s my own fault. I was too cocky. I didn’t think anyone could sneak up on me. Next time I’ll pay more attention.”

“Next time?” Did they plan on continuing this farce?

“Yes, next time,” Chris said. “We’re going to try again tomorrow night. The sap who hit my brother probably figures we won’t try it again. And you know he still wants to find the evidence he thinks we have. Besides, chances are he figures Bill was doing this on his own. He didn’t necessarily see me or Jimmy.”

“Uh huh.” To say I was skeptical would be a huge understatement.
“And what if he did?”

Jimmy cleared his throat and I pinned him with my gaze.

“You’re going to go along with this again?” I asked. “Are you all nuts?”

“It
is
a good plan,” he replied. “Only tomorrow night I’ll have a deputy on the road to see who comes and goes. He can radio me if anyone drives toward the house.”

I shook my head. I had a feeling they wouldn’t listen to anything I said. “
I’ll bet your uncle, the Chief, wouldn’t appreciate you going along with this cockamamie plan. And what about me and Mikey?”

At the mention of his uncle, Jimmy gave me a mild version of the Evil Eye.
I thought I might have stepped on his toes.

“You’ll either stay in the house with the doors and windows locked or we can put you in a motel overnight.” Apparently Chris had given this at least a little thought.

“I’d have Mikey go stay with someone tomorrow night, but we don’t know anyone here. I’m not going to a motel, either. I’ll figure something out.”

“Okay, I’ve gotta go,” Jimmy said. “Keep your eyes open, even during the day tomorrow. If anything out of the ordinary happens, let me know right away. You people have challenged the perp by hinting there’s more evidence out here. I think you’re half nuts, but it could work. Spend some time outside trying to look like you’re searching for something, during the
day
. I’ll keep my distance and he’ll probably think you haven’t filled me in yet.”

Jimmy left and Bill settled on the
sofa. He wanted to be where he could hear what was going on outside. Sherlock and Watson lay down next to the sofa, appearing to be guarding Bill. Either that or they were enjoying having someone stay in the living room with them.

Chris and I went to bed without a lot of conversation. We both had issues about what was going on, and my issues were different from his.
Neither of us was in the mood for a spirited discussion.

After about ten minutes
during which I tossed and turned, I heard the dogs go into Mikey’s bedroom. I was glad they’d gotten their priorities straightened out. I settled down and fell asleep quickly.

I dreamed about what amateurs we were, thinking we could solve Charlie’s murder.

~ * ~

We were all exhausted and slept in a little
the next morning. I got up around eight o’clock and fed the dogs. They’d been very patient. Mikey trooped out to the kitchen about fifteen minutes later. His curly dark blonde hair looked even curlier than normal.

“Let’s try to be quiet and let your father and uncle sleep, okay?” I whispered.

“Okay.” He sat at the table and watched me start a pot of coffee.

“What would you like for breakfast,” I asked. “Your choice this morning.”

“Cereal.”

I smiled at him. “Thank goodness. I really don’t feel like cooking.”

He returned my smile with his single dimple making an appearance. I thought about what a cute kid my son is. And so smart. Way too smart for his own good sometimes.

After eating
his cereal, he picked up a couple of dog toys and led the dogs outside to play. He stayed behind the house where I could see him. I was thankful the clouds and wind had disappeared during the night, leaving it sunny and warm.

I
was just about to take my first sip of coffee when Chris dragged himself to the kitchen. He sat at the table and I pushed my mug in front of him.

“Thanks.”

I nodded. “You don’t look like you slept well last night.”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about the danger we may be putting you and
Ace in. I really think you should stay in town tonight, angel. I had another idea, too, if you want to stay out here. I wonder if Essie and Joe could take him for the night. They seem like good people.”

“Let me think about it. We don’t really know them, but I liked them, too. Why don’t we go into Serenity for lunch today and I can talk to her
, and I can see how she interacts with Mikey?”

“Good plan,” Bill said from the doorway. “I had another idea, too. We need to get that knife back from Jimmy and plant it by the hole in the ground so the killer has something to find.”

“Yeah, and when the chump picks it up we’ll catch him with the goods. That shiv wouldn’t mean anything to anyone else. You’re starting to get the hang of this private eye stuff, bro.”

“Only this time stay in the shadows,” I said. “Give the guy a chance to search instead of giving him an opening to hit you again.
I don’t want to send you home feet first.”

“Feet first? What does that mean?”

“It means we want you to go home alive, not in a casket,” Chris said.

I thought Bill looked uncomfortable. He probably hadn’t thought about dying. Why would he? This was probably a game to him. It shouldn’t be.

A cell phone rang and Bill pulled his out of his pocket. “Morning, Steph.” He took the phone and walked outside.

Mikey came in, leaving the dogs outside. “Guess I’
d better get dressed, huh?”

“Take a shower and brush your teeth first,” I said. “We’re going into town later on
, so put on something clean.” Like so many kids, if I didn’t say something he’d grab whatever clothes were handy.

Chris and I ate cereal for breakfast and by the time we were done our son was out of the shower.

Before I could head for the bathroom for my shower, we heard Bill raise his voice. He didn’t sound angry, but more like defensive.

“Uh oh,” I said. “I’ll bet he broke down and told Stephanie what happened last night.”

“Yeah. I’ll bet he’s doin’ some fancy footwork, trying to get out of a tight spot right now. My sister-in-law can be a terror sometimes.”

“In a way, I hope she talks him into driving home today. There’s no telling what might happen tonight.”

“You could be right,” Chris said. “Besides, Jimmy and I can handle this ourselves.”

“Yeah, right. You’ve done so well so far.”

“Have a little faith, will ya?”

“Oh, I do, Bogey Man. It’s just not always
too noticeable.”

Chapter Thirty-three

Creak. Bang.

Bill stomped through the living room, meeting us in the kitchen. He was mumbling to himself and I realized we were right, he’d told Stephanie about the previous night’s adventure
, although maybe adventure wasn’t the right word. I guess he had to tell her considering he had stitches in his head. That just might be something a wife would notice. Yeah, he might have needed more stitches by the time she was through with him if he
hadn’t
told her.

“She wants me to come home,” Bill said. “If I don’t, she’s planning on driving up here.
Can you believe that?”

“So what’re you going to do?” Chris
watched his brother closely.

“Sounds to me like you should go home,” I said.

Bill glanced back and forth between the two of us. “I’m staying. I told her not to come and to stay out of this. She sounded surprised that I gave her an order, but she brought out the stubborn in me.”

“Kind of like your brother brings out the stubborn in me?” This was something I understood.

They both turned to me and frowned.

I automatically pursed my lips. “I think you two
took too many chances. Things could have been a lot worse than they were. You could have ended up being buzzard bait, Bill. Did you ever think about that?”

“You should talk,” Chris said. “All anyone has to do is show you a mystery
or a crime and you’re all over it. Talk about taking chances. And you have a young son who needs you.”

“So do
you
.”

“He needs you more.”

I unpursed my lips and snarled at him. “Ha!” With that intelligent retort, I turned and left the room, walking outside to the tune of
creak, bang
.

He was right but I wasn’t about to admit it.

“Mom?” I hadn’t heard Mikey come outside. I must have been too deep in thought to hear the noisy screen door. Or maybe I was getting used to it.

“Hi.
Do you need something?”

“Dad said you might want someone to talk to.”

“Oh, he did, did he? Well…”

Mikey threw his arms around my waist and gave me a
tight hug. I hugged back.

“
I thought maybe you needed a hug. Sometimes I need one. What’s goin’ on between you and Dad?”

“Not much, really.
Aunt Stephanie is mad at Uncle Bill, and that kind of led to words between your father and me. It’s okay. We didn’t argue. I just needed a minute to myself.”

“Do you want me to leave you alone?”

“No, let’s go sit on the porch.”

He took my hand and we walked back t
o the porch together. We sat, watching a squirrel climb the oak tree, not speaking.

“You and Dad haven’t done much sleuthing
this time.”

“Sleuthing?”

“Yeah, sleuthing. I found that word in one of my mystery books. You guys usually look for more clues. You haven’t done that this time.”

I turned and hugged my son. “
I love you, and you’re absolutely right. That’s going to change right now.”

He
smiled and stood, holding his hand out to me. “Come on, Mom, let’s go talk to the Bogey Man. He needs our help.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. My son had never used the nickname Bogey Man before. He laughed with me.

We returned to the kitchen where we found Bill eating a bowl of cereal while Chris watched. Mikey sat and watched his uncle eat, too. It didn’t seem all that entertaining to me.

“We have a very perceptive son,” I said, sitting at the table. “He made a good point. We’ve listened and asked a few questions, and we’ve tried setting traps. The one thing we
haven’t
done is our jobs.”

“What jobs?” Bill asked.

“Yeah, what jobs?” Chris looked surprised.

“We know how to work a case and we haven’t been doing anything about it. Maybe we didn’t want to give up our vacation and do what we know how to do. I don’t know what was different this time. Instead of setting traps, we should be working to figure out who really might have wanted Charlie dead. We should be trying to figure out who might have lost their knife out here. We should be seriously looking for clues. What the heck kind of an example are we setting for Jimmy?
We’ve been through this before. He hasn’t. I know we’re not coppers, but we have experience.”

Chris
pushed his chair back and stood watching me, looking thoughtful.

“Uh oh?” Maybe I’d stepped on his toes.

“You’re right. We’ve been playing around instead of getting down to business. We could all be in danger with the trap we set. That was a bad move. It’s time to do things the right way.”

“I feel like I should be hearing background music,” Bill said. “Something you’d hear just before someone yells,
Charge!
”

Chris ignored his brother. “Okay, now let me think what Bogey would do.”
He cupped his chin with his hand and looked off into the distance.

I pulled his hand down.
“Really? Why don’t you just do what Chris would do, Chris?”

A smile slowly worked its way across his face. “You’re the cat’s meow,
Sunshine. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“What’s he up to?” Bill asked.

“I haven’t got a clue.” I watched Chris’s retreating back.

“Me, either,” Mikey said. “Do you want me to go see what he’s doing?”

“No, you stay here with me and your uncle. We’ll know what he’s got up his sleeve when he’s ready to share it with us.”

We sat quietly
for a few minutes, glancing toward the kitchen door every so often.

“I agree
, my brother looks like Humphrey Bogart, but it’s not a big deal.”

“You’d be surprised. His Bogey persona can be very distracting. We’ve found all kinds of information when he does his thing. I remember a woman who worked for the county who fell all over herself to help us when we needed some information.
She was old enough to remember Bogey and Chris really laid it on thick. She…”

My words died on my lips when Chris returned wearing a 1940s pin-striped suit and vest and his fedora. He’d pulled the hat low, partially covering his face. He stood in the doorway and rocked back on his heels while pulling on his earlobe. Turning to Bill, he rolled his upper lip under.
I felt, just for a moment, like the real Bogey had joined us.

“Let’s blow this place and
see if we can put someone in the hoosegow. We’ve doped off long enough, and it’s time for the
brains
– me – to take action. Let’s visit the greasy spoon. It seems like everybody stops in there at some time or other. It’s time for this gumshoe to come to life. We’ve got bupkis so far. It’s time to turn the tables.”

“What scares me
is the fact that I get what he’s saying.” Bill was finally catching on.

“You get used to it,” I said.
“And what scares
me
is that he brought his suit with him.”

Ignoring both of us, Chris walked over and stood in front of me. “Dollface, I need you to play your role, too.”

“I didn’t bring any forties clothes with us.”

“You don’t need them. Put on a pair of slacks and comb your hair like you do for the restaurant. You’ll pass for my moll.”

“Moll?” Bill asked.

I smiled at my brother-in-law.
“Like a gun moll, except I’m really just his sidekick. Haven’t you ever watched any old gangster movies?”

“What about me?” Mikey
looked expectant and yet like he was feeling left out, both at the same time.

“
You’re my other sidekick, Ace. Just follow our lead and you’ll be okay,” Chris said. “But first, take the dogs outside to do their business and give them fresh water in here. We can’t take them with us.”

“Even the kid
understands what’s going on?” Bill looked surprised.

“This ain’t our first rodeo.
” Mikey rocked back on his heels, mimicking his father.

I laughed. “Yeah. The family that gumshoes together, stays together. Or something like that.”

Bill shook his head. “You people are nuts. But you sure are a lot of fun. I’ve been missing out on a lot.”

“Not anymore,” Chris said. “Saddle up and let’s head out.”