Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 04 - Awkward Moments (20 page)

Chapter Thirty-eight

The dog nudged my knee.

“Sherlock, will you go away? Shoo!”

He nudged my other knee and wouldn’t budge.

“What’s the matter with you, you big lug?” I tried to push him away, but he still wouldn’t move. “Okay, what’s going on here?”

Sherlock picked up his prize and dropped it on my foot again. I bent over to pick it up and found a piece of torn fabric, the kind you’d find in a man’s shirt. It looked vaguely familiar, but not like any shirt Chris might wear. It was red and black plaid flannel, and it was dirty with dried mud on it.

“Where’d you get this?”

Right, like he’d answer me. I thought about it and realized the only place he’d been since I let him outside was by the oak tree. Bells began ringing in my head. I snapped my fingers and turned to the men, holding out the piece of torn cloth.

“Anyone remember seeing a shirt made out of this fabric?” I asked.

They stopped talking and turned to see what I was talking about.

“It looks vaguely familiar,” Jimmy said, “but in a small town like this a lot of men wear flannel shirts.”

“Never seen it before,” my brother-in-law said.

Chris took it out of my hand. “Surprisingly, it looks familiar to me, too. Where’d you get it?”

“It seems Sherlock found it somewhere around the oak tree or the hole in the ground.” I handed it to Chris. “It could be a clue.”

“I went over that area with a fine tooth comb,” Jimmy said. “I doubt it’s been there all this time.”

“Well, it was here before the storm we had because it’s covered in dirt and mud. Maybe it got buried and the rain washed it up.” I took it back from Chris and turned it over in my hand.

Jimmy took it from me. “It really does look familiar, but I can’t think who I might have seen wearing it. I’ll take it with me and think it over. The more I
look at it, the more familiar it seems.” He stared at the fabric as though waiting for it to tell him something. “This might be our first real clue.”

“I don’t remember ever seeing a shirt like this,” I said, “but I haven’t been in town as much as the rest of you.”

Everyone was quiet, trying to call up memories.

“Maybe the knife wasn’t the clue we thought it was, but this really could be something. The killer has to know his shirt was torn. I’ll bet Charlie and the killer got in a fight, just like old Henry and Melvyn did in the old days. Maybe for different reasons, but still…” I had a gut feeling about it.

Chris looked into my green eyes and seemed to see something that convinced him I was on to something. “Makes sense to me. Women’s intuition?”

“Maybe, or maybe just common sense.” I
grinned at my husband.

“Mom’s hunches are usually right. We should listen to her.”  The expression on Mikey’s face was almost comical. He was dead serious about me and my hunches.

“I have another hunch, gentlemen. I think this simple piece of cloth is going to catch us a killer.”

While the m
en talked about how to ferret out the murderer, Mikey and I sat on the porch and hatched a plan. It was similar to our original plan to get the killer to come out to the house, but with a few changes.

“Jimmy,” I said, “you need to go back to town. When we found the knife we didn’t tell anyone what we’d uncovered
, only that we’d found something. Actually, I’m glad it worked out that way. This time I want you to spread the word around town that we’ve called you again and we found a piece of a man’s shirt. Maybe just sort of let it slip. Tell them we’ve still got the fabric and you’re busy but you’ll be picking it up soon. You can kind of lead people to believe you’ve run out of leads, which you have, and the fabric is a boon to the investigation. That should get someone’s attention.”

“Before I do that, why don’t you call Essie about your son staying with her?” Jimmy folded the piece of cloth and put it in his shirt pocket.
“I think we should wait until tomorrow to start spreading the word so we can prepare.”

I nodded and pulled my cell phone out of my purse. Realizing I didn’t have a number for the Burnt Bun, I headed for the house to see if there was a phone book.

There was excitement in the air. We had a clue – a real clue. I could hear the men buzzing behind me when I went into the house.

I called Essie and her voice brightened when she found out what I wanted. “Of course, we’ll keep that young man of yours. I have a feeling he’ll perk things up for us. When do you want to leave him? Tonight?”

“Tomorrow night. Essie, I really appreciate your help. We have some things to take care of and we don’t want Mikey with us.”

She was quiet for a moment and I had a feeling she wanted to know what
things
I was referring to, but I didn’t enlighten her. She might slip and tell someone what we were up to.

Deciding we’d eat dinner at the Burnt Bun
the next night, I told her we’d leave him with her when we drove home.

I heard the dogs barking like they do when someone approaches the house and walked outside to see what was up. Stu was pulling up behind Jimmy’s patrol car.

“What’s up?” I heard Chris say.

“Nothing. I just thought I’d drive out and see what you folks are up to. Things are quiet at the store and I left Adele in charge. I’ve been kind of at loose ends since Charlie was murdered.
I should talk to my wife about how I’m feeling. Jean always seems to know the right thing to say to me. I know you’re working on finding his killer, but for some reason I feel like I should be doing something, too.”

No one said a word.
We were too busy staring at Stu’s hair. The grey was gone and in its place was dark brown, almost black, hair.

“Am I stepping on someone’s toes here? What’s cookin’?” Stu looked somewhat insulted when no one spoke to him.
He patted his hair self-consciously.

“No, no,” Chris said. He rolled back on his heels, tipped his head back and looked down his nose at Stu. “What’s cookin’ is we have no idea what to do next.”

Stu turned to Jimmy. “Didn’t I hear you found some kind of evidence out here?”

The copper took his time in replying.
“I’m going to trust you, Stu. You didn’t see me out here today. In fact, let’s say you haven’t seen me at all today.” He looked like he was speaking to Stu’s hair.

The older man
studied each of us for a moment. “Okay.”

Everyone continued to stare at Stu’s new do.

“Um, Mr. Kimball, what happened to your hair?” Leave it to my son to address the elephant in our driveway.

“Mikey,” I admonished.

Stu looked sheepish. “It’s okay, Pamela. We got a new product in and I thought if I had darker hair I might look younger. I wanted to impress my wife, so after I saw you at the store I went home and applied it. It’s just a spray.”

Chris shook his head. “You don’t need a new hair color to do that, man.”

“It washes out – I think. Next time you see me I should look like my old self.”

“I hope so.” I didn’t mean to say that. It just slipped out of my mouth. “I like the normal you
,” I added quickly.

Stu nodded. “So what kind of evidence did you find?”

Chapter Thirty-nine

Jimmy’s lips tightened. “I think you’ll be better off not knowing
what evidence we’ve found, Stu.”

“Does it have anything to do with a pocket knife?”

Chris started to laugh while Bill’s mouth dropped open.

“
Were we that obvious?” Bill asked.

“Dummy up.” Chris
poked his brother’s arm. “Don’t start blabbing.”

“But he’s got our number. He knows what we were up to.”

My husband put his hand up for quiet. “Psst. Quit flappin’ your lips and
dummy up
.”

My brother-in-law’s face turned red and he walked a few feet away from us.

Stu smiled. “Your brother’s right, you know. First we hear around town that you found some evidence, and the next thing I know you’re in the store asking for a pocket knife. Of course I knew what you were up to.”

“Another awkward moment,” Chris said. “Lately it seems like those are the only moments we have.”

Stu turned to Jimmy. “Let me put it this way. Should I keep my eyes open and watch for something?

“The pocket knife is no longer an issue, Stu.  Just watch for anyone who’s acting differently than normal. Charlie’s funeral is tomorrow, so I think I’ll put in an appearance and see if anyone acts like they’re doing something other than mourning. You’ll be there, I assume.”

“I will, and I’ll help you watch. Charlie was one of the good guys. I’d like to see his killer behind bars.”

Bill rejoined us even though he seemed to be sulking.
“We’re all going to the funeral? I didn’t bring any good clothes with me.”

“I don’t think it’ll matter,” I said. “We’ll sit in back and just watch what unfolds, if anything does.”

“I’ve never been to a funeral, Mom. Can I go?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Ace.” Chris was shaking his head.

Bill glanced from father to son. “On the other hand, it would give the kid an idea of what funerals are all about. At least he didn’t know they guy they’re burying. Better a stranger than someone he cares about.”

Chris looked torn. Bill actually made good sense, in a way. “Pamela, what do you think?”

“I’d rather not have my son go to a funeral, but in a way Bill has a point. Besides, we don’t have anyone we can leave Mikey with because they’ll all be at the funeral.”

“Then it’s decided. I’ll go.” Mikey
ran across the yard, calling the dogs to follow him.

“I guess he didn’t want to give us a chance to change our minds,” I said. “I have a feeling he’s going to be sorry later on though. After all, it’s not a party.”

“You’d be surprised,” Stu said. “People around here are more likely to celebrate someone’s life than mourn their death. By the time of the funeral, people will have already mourned in their own way. It’ll be time to remember the man and his deeds. And as quiet as Charlie was, he did a lot for this town. I’m sure that’ll be discussed at the funeral.”

Jimmy nodded. “There are kids in this town who wouldn’t have had winter jackets if it weren’t for Charlie. I can think of a couple of dogs he found wandering around outside of town that he found homes for, and he always helped out at fundraisers. Well, in a town this size there weren’t many fundraisers, but we had a few.
I can think of some people who might have missed a meal if it weren’t for Charlie, too.”

“It sounds like you should be calling him Saint Charlie.” Bill’s sarcasm wasn’t lost on us.

“Make fun if you want, but he was a good man.”

Looking contrite, my brother-in-law mumbled a quiet, “Sorry. But he must have had some failing, or why would he have been murdered?”

Stu looked Bill in the eyes. “Charlie had a nasty temper, but it took a lot to make him lose it. He didn’t have patience for stupid people, and when I say stupid, I mean people who made rash, bad choices that hurt others. He had his faults, but even those were good in one way or another.”

The copper looked at his watch. “I’ve got to get back to town. Rosebutz is due in soon and I want to fill him in on a few things.
”

“I’d better go home, too,” Stu said.

Jimmy put him hand on Stu’s arm. “I’ll tell you this much. We found a scrap of fabric from a torn shirt. But as far as you know, I haven’t seen it yet. Got that?”

Stu nodded somberly. “
Fabric. Torn shirt. Got it. Why did you finally tell me about it?”

“Because I’m going to spread the word around town so you’d hear about it anyway. Just keep your yap closed and don’t let on that you know about it.”

“I guess this means you don’t suspect me, right?”

“Not really, but I’m still keeping an eye on you – and your new hair.”

That caused a much needed laugh for all of us.

“I’ll wash it as soon as I get back to town. Cross your fingers that it comes out.”

Mikey rejoined us. “Mine are already crossed, Mr. Duncan.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting your wife, Stu.” I had a certain curiosity about the type of woman he might be married to since I liked him so much.

“She won’t be there,” he replied. “She’s taking care of some family business.”

The two men left while we watched them pull out of the driveway.

“Well, I’d better get dinner in the oven.” I turned toward the house. “I bought one of those frozen roast beef dinners at the store. It says it serves six, so there should be enough for all of us.”

There was no reply so I knew no one was too excited. I didn’t care. We were on vacation, and
we
included me.

As it turned out, the frozen roast wasn’t half bad. It disappeared in a hurry along with potatoes and carrots and a salad. Bread and butter rounded out the dinner.

The evening was blessedly quiet and we discovered a radio station that was replaying old time radio shows. We listened to Burns & Allen, Jack Benny and Gene Autry. Mikey was surprised to learn he could enjoy something on the radio instead of having to watch television. However, the next show in their lineup was The Inner Sanctum, which opens with a creaking door.

Mikey stood and gave me a good-night kiss. “The noise that door makes is creeping me out. I’m going to bed.”

“Yeah, Ace, we wouldn’t want you to have nightmares.” Bill gave my son an evil grin and Mikey scampered away as fast as he could.

Chris turned off the living room lights. “If we’re going to listen to a show like this one, we need total darkness.” He was in the mood for a good scare, and I laughed.

About an hour later lights briefly reflected off the front window. I thought I heard the sound of an engine dying.

“Chris?” I turned off the radio.

“Way ahead of you, doll.” He quietly walked to the window and looked outside.

Bill followed him
and did likewise.

“Well, crap!” Bill could be so poetic sometimes. “Where’d I put my shotgun?”

He stomped through the house like a man on a mission.