With Cruel Intent (62 page)

front doors when a voice hollered across

the

office,

feminine

but

barking

nonetheless.

“Ms. Delaney, don’t leave just yet,

will you!” the shout came from the back of

the office area.

Deputy Guest could be seen

moving quickly through the desks and

chairs to reach the group.

“I have a couple of quick

questions for you if you don’t mind, will

only take a second,” the officer said.

“Sure, you guys just wait for me

outside, I’ll be right out,” Blanche said.

Officer Guest directed Blanche

into the Sheriff’s office, she was sure he

wouldn’t care.

“I was wondering if you’ve given

anymore thought to who might be causing

these problems for Jasper and Seymour? I

have a possible suspect in mind but I’d

rather hear it from you before I plant the

information in your head, if you know

what I mean.”

“Yes, I have thought about it but

can’t say there’s anybody..., wait a minute,

there is somebody that is a little odd but

he’s not done anything to me, if that’s what

you’re after?”

“Not necessarily, but even odd

behavior that struck you as unusual,” the

deputy further clarified what she was

looking for.

“Working with the public we run

into odd behavior all the time, but

directed specifically at me, there is a guy

that has been in the library a couple times

in the past few weeks. His name is Rob,

was in just yesterday, struck me as odd,

kind of hitting on me, but said he had a

girlfriend he was trying to convince to

move to California with him. Sounded like

the move was imminent.”

“Describe him for me,” Guest

requested.

The librarian did so with amazing

clarity and recollection, speaking faster

than Natalie could keep up. A few minutes

later the two had worked out a statement,

which Blanche read over and confirmed it

was a concise overview of the things she

had reported to the deputy. Blanche signed

the statement, as she was familiar with

doing by now, and was about to leave

when the deputy thought of one more thing.

“Did anybody else see this guy or

were you working alone?” she asked.

“Yeah, for sure, Mr. Marcus, the

gentleman with us today acting as our

chauffeur talked with him as well,”

Blanche replied.

Officer Guest could hardly contain

her excitement. The description given to

her was a dead ringer for Lester

Cummings and now she had a second

witness that could also put Lester in the

mix. It was interesting that he had chosen

to use the name Rob when speaking with

Blanche. The deputy made sure to write

everything down this time around. She

asked that Blanche send him in and she

went through the same process with

Marcus. The custodian issued a more

vague description but generally the same

as Blanche. He agreed to provide any

further information that came to mind,

signed the statement and left with the

others.

* * *

Beverly was disappointed that

she’d not heard from Felix after their

morning romp the day before, but was sure

she would get a chance to pull his chain

again today. He’d said something about

the property they had met over and the

possibility of an offer, which would

certainly be the icing on the cake for the

realtor. She reviewed her calendar for the

day, over her usual cup of coffee, picked

up the house a bit before she dressed and

headed to her office. The planner

reminded her of the date she had with

Blanche for the following night, she was

so anxious to tell her about the new man

that had swept into her life and bedroom.

In the late afternoon she finally

heard from Felix. He apologized for not

getting back to her sooner but had been on

the phone non-stop with the developers.

They had come to an agreement, at least

from their side, in terms of an offer with a

few ‘subject to’s’ still in place. Felix told

her he had done his best to hammer out an

agreement that he thought would be

acceptable to all parties and was anxious

to present it to her. He also indicated that

he wanted to show her something else and

would be by later to do just that. The con

man was vague on the time he would do

the presenting but asked her to be home

from 6:00 p.m. and on, that way she

wouldn’t miss him. Beverly was more

than excited; perhaps she was turning the

corner on a newfound and more fulfilling

life.

Just that morning her lawyer had

phoned saying that Mr. Jeremy Marshall,

her stepson, had contacted their office,

with one last lowball offer of ten million,

which they flatly turned down given the

prior direction they had received from

Beverly herself. The lawyer suggested that

with no further hang-ups there was a

possibility that she’d be a millionaire by

Christmas. He was careful not to give her

too much hope as Jeremy had already filed

a petition to reduce the amount arbitrarily

assigned by the court as the final value of

the estate. The Marshall lawyers were

contesting the value assigned in a market

that was in an undeniable downturn.

Beverly was disappointed but not

surprised, in any case, she knew the estate

issue was winding down and she could

soon get on with her life and maybe her

new love.

* * *

Seymour was anxious to get his

life back to normal as soon as possible.

Taking advice from his mother and

rejecting it outright, he returned to the one

class he had in the afternoon, astonishing

some of the students and drawing high

fives from others. The few hours he was

away from home passed without incident

but he was excited to go to work that

evening. He needed to be with Blanche in

a way he’d never felt before with another

woman. His heart yearned and craved her

companionship, he could tell from the pull

on his heartstrings that the infatuation had

grown. He could not deny the feelings of

love and concern he had for the

fascinating Blanche D. Delaney.

Shortly before six, Seymour ate

with his mother at the kitchen table and

talked of the week’s past events. She tried

to persuade him to stay home from work

but knew it was a losing argument.

Nothing would keep him away from

Blanche or the library tonight. Their

discussion went full circle and ended up

at the jail earlier in the day.

“I was so glad to walk out of there

today, mom. Probably next to dad dying,

the worst few days of my life,” Seymour

said.

“If it weren’t for Blanche you’d

still be sitting there,” his mother informed

him. Having said that she got up from the

table and started clearing dishes away.

“What do you mean? What did she

do?” he asked, anxious to hear the answer.

“She didn’t tell you?” his mom

asked.

“Tell me what? She just told me

you had arranged the bail and I’d be

getting out today.”

“Seymour, she took the money she

had set aside for a down payment on a

place and gave it to us for your bail. The

bank would only give me $150,000; she

came up with the rest. I have to say, she’s

a remarkable girl. I was wrong about her,”

his mother said, moving to stand behind

him and putting her hands on his sinewy

shoulders.

“You’re kidding, I had no idea.”

He could think of nothing else to say but

sat in silence the last few minutes he had

before needing to leave for work.

With his mom in the kitchen,

Seymour went to her room and removed

the rifle from the closet and filled his

pocket with a handful of shells from a box

that was nearby. He managed to get out the

door and put the gun behind the seat of the

truck without her being the wiser. Jasper

had been unprepared in defending

Blanche; he would not make the same

mistake. Seymour had shot the old rifle a

few times. He knew enough that his dad

called it a .50 caliber Sharps, the bullets

as big around as his index finger and

almost as long. The weapon had been

handed down over the generations from

the days of the Civil War, and although

old, his father had used it yearly to put

venison on their table. Seymour had shot it

a little bit in his youth, had one hell of a

kick, but never had much interest in

hunting but would go just to hang out with

his dad. He tossed the shells in the glove

box, hollered out the window to his

mother that he’d see her later and headed

for town and Blanche at the library.

* * *

Deputy Guest worked feverishly

throughout the afternoon, with the help of

Deputy Breland and Ricky, to put the

finishing touches on the warrant request.

The information provided by the old timer

had proven just what they needed to put

the final piece of the warrant together. She

had driven out earlier in the afternoon and

taken their statement. It seemed that the

old guy got to thinking after they talked the

other day and the more he drove the

tractor around his field the more he

remembered about a friend of his that

passed away a good ten years before. Had

a son that raced motorcycles on the MX

Circuit when he was younger. The

farmer’s friend would often brag about the

trophies his son was stacking up. The

Deputy had grown more excited with each

passing minute, hoping the old timer could

remember the name.

As he concluded his statement she

asked, “And can you remember your

friend’s name or his son’s?”

His wife had helped to translate

some of the slur and slang but there was

no missing his answer. “Well, shur I do,

ain’t losin’ ma mind am I motha. Feller’s

name was Cummings, Spencer Cummings,

but I can’t say I mumber the bo’s.”

With Lester Cummings squarely in

their sights and the paperwork in hand

Guest had raced to the courthouse in hopes

of catching the judge. The timing was

close; she caught the judge climbing into

his 4x4 as she pulled into the parking lot.

She hit her lights and siren to get his

attention causing Otis to bark and growl

from his cage. The judge had been more

than understanding, especially considering

the impact the information could have on

the Wood and Stalker cases. He informed

the deputy that he would review the

request at home and issue the warrant

from there. He would notify the Sheriff’s

Office once he had done his work and she

could drop by his house to pick up the

search warrant later.

Deputy Guest now found herself

staring at the phone and talking with the

dispatch staff as most of the officers had

retired for the night. She could see a light

on in 'The Wolf’s office, making plans for

the raid in the morning no doubt. All

officers had been told to report for duty at

4:30 a.m., they would need to gear up with

vests and shotguns, in preparation for the

raid which would go down at 5:30 the

next morning. The office had been abuzz

with excitement in hopes of bringing The

Stalker to justice.

* * *

At 5:30 p.m. the charming wise

guy parked his car a mile from Bev’s

location in the parking lot of a busy

restaurant and began the walk to her

house. Iggy would soon be on his way to

the property near the base and then off for

chicken to be enjoyed by the director and

his new acquaintance. A college football

game was the lure that brought the two