Dead, to Begin With, page 13
Or it would have been had Rhodes believed everything he read in the report, which he didn’t. He looked at the report again. It had been typed by a deputy named Goodman. Rhodes had never met him, and it wouldn’t have mattered if he had.
The report said that there had been no one else on the scene when Goodman had arrived. Someone had called in the accident anonymously, and Goodman was the one sent to investigate. He apparently didn’t see anything strange about the scene.
Rhodes did. He looked at the photographs of the scene again. They were brighter in the middle and darker toward the edges, thanks to the cheap flash attachment that someone had used, but everything was clear and sharp. The car was a four-door sedan, and both front doors were sprung open. The sheet-covered figure of Gwen Marley was on the wrong side of the car.
Goodman explained that oddity by saying that while both doors were open, Gwen had been thrown across the front seat and through the passenger door by the force of the impact and the fact that the car had been in a spin.
It was the kind of thing that could have happened, but it was only a bare possibility. Rhodes didn’t believe it. He believed that there had been two people in the car and the second person had been driving.
Something was missing, too. There had been no autopsy, and there were no toxicology results. Had alcohol been involved in the accident? All the sheriff’s report said was that the driver had “apparently lost control of the car.” Speculation about why that might have happened was missing.
Rhodes read the report again. Gwen had been seen in town earlier that night, and she hadn’t been seen with anyone. When her parents were questioned, they said she’d been to a movie and that she’d been alone. Maybe she had at some point during the night, but when she hit the tree, she hadn’t been alone. Rhodes would have bet on it. He felt sure that someone had walked away from the accident.
Rhodes thought about everything that had happened recently: Jake Marley coming out of his house and out of his shell and getting involved with the community, Jake’s seeming personality change, his restoration of the theater, his insistence on a new version of A Christmas Carol being performed there, his will, his naming of the cast members of the play.
Besides that, there was what Rhodes had learned earlier from Elaine Tunstall about how Jake had changed after his sister’s death.
Rhodes recalled what Harry Harris had said about Marley in the story of Scrooge and the ghosts. Marley had been thinking of all the things he’d seen and done nothing about. His ghost was there to remind Scrooge of his failings by having the ghosts show him his past.
Then something else popped into Rhodes’s head, something else he hadn’t thought of since high school. It was from his senior year when the class had to read Hamlet. Hamlet had put on a play to trick the king into confessing he’d killed Hamlet’s father. Jake had a set of Shakespeare’s plays on his library shelves. He’d have known about that. Was Jake trying to catch the conscience of one of the men he’d cast in the play? They’d all been in Gwen Marley’s class, and she’d been friendly with all of them, according to Elaine Tunstall. Had one of them been at the movie with her and in the car afterward? If that was the case, had Jake just found out, or had he known all along? If he’d known all along, why wait until now to do something about it?
Another question, one that bothered Rhodes as much as the ones about his suspects, was why Jake had wanted him to be at the play. If he was indeed hoping that the play would reveal something about Gwen’s death, did he hope that Rhodes would be able to make an arrest? That wouldn’t be possible, of course, unless the accident had actually been a murder. There was no statute of limitations on that crime, but there was also no indication that Gwen had been murdered.
The questions didn’t end there. Even more important was whether Jake’s death was connected to the accident. It had been long ago, but the past was never dead in a small town. If Jake had planned to expose one of the men he’d cast in the play and the man had found out, it might be a motive for murder. It had been too long for any charges to be filed against anyone, but a ruined reputation could be just as disastrous as a jail sentence to some people.
Rhodes put everything back in the file folder and put the folder in the center drawer of his desk. He had a lot of people to see and a lot of questions to ask them. He might as well begin with Scrooge.
* * *
Like his former employee Aubrey Hamilton, Ed Hopkins was an independent real estate dealer, not affiliated with any of the nationally known firms. He’d been in business for as long as Rhodes could remember, and he and Aubrey were currently the only two Realtors in Clearview. He’d once had his office downtown, but now it was located out on the highway, which was where just about all the businesses in Clearview had moved, to get close to the big Walmart or at least to get out where somebody might drive past them on the way to Walmart. Unlike many of the businesses, however, Hopkins hadn’t located in a strip center. He’d bought a building that had once been a pizza place and remodeled it into his offices. Rhodes parked in the ample parking lot and got out of the Tahoe.
He thought he smelled pizza, but that was probably just his imagination, like the smell of popcorn in the movie theater. He wondered why his imagination was always smelling food. Probably best not to think too hard about it.
Rhodes went into the building through a glass door that had HOPKINS REALTORS painted on it in gold, and a little bell rang over the door. The building had been divided into offices, although no one had an office there except for Ed. He didn’t have an office manager or administrative assistant, and he hadn’t taken on another agent since Aubrey had left. Business wasn’t booming.
Ed’s desk was in the big front room, but he wasn’t sitting at it. Rhodes waited. He knew Ed was around. He would’ve locked the door if he’d been out with a client. Over in one corner stood a coat rack with a red jacket and a Western-style hat hanging from it. Ed wore the hat as kind of a trademark. Rhodes felt a momentary tinge of envy, but he suppressed it.
After a couple of seconds, Ed came down a short hall and into the office. He had on a sport coat but no tie. Rhodes could barely remember the time when businessmen wore ties to work.
“Hey, Sheriff,” Ed said. “Good to see you. You in the market for some real estate today? A new house? Some acreage? Whatever you need, I have it.”
Ed was almost as tall as Rhodes but thinner, with a narrow face and a prominent Adam’s apple that bobbed up and down when he talked. His hair was thin all over, so thin on top that his scalp showed through. Rhodes wondered how long it would be before his own hair became like that.
“Business must be booming,” Rhodes said.
The corners of Ed’s mouth turned down. “I wish. I have plenty of properties. All kinds. What I don’t have is plenty of buyers. Blacklin County isn’t what you’d call a seller’s market right now. I’d make you a good deal on some nice acreage or a fine house.”
“I’m not in the market,” Rhodes said. “I’m here about something else.”
“Well,” Ed said, looking disappointed, “have a seat and tell me all about it.” He sat behind his desk and pushed a calendar and some kind of computer tablet aside. They were the only things on the desk aside from a little cardholder that contained some of Ed’s business cards. “I don’t have any appointments for a while.”
Rhodes sat in one of the two chairs in front of Ed’s desk. “You heard about Jake Marley.”
“Sure did.” Ed leaned forward and put both hands on his desk, palms down. “Worst news for the town in a long time. Jake had finally gotten his act together.”
“How well did you know him?”
Ed leaned back in his chair. “I didn’t. Nobody knew Jake.”
“You went to school with him.”
Ed brushed that off. “Yeah, but that was a long time ago. Haven’t been in touch since then.”
“He went to Aubrey to make the deal for the theater.”
“Yeah.” Ed sighed. “I didn’t even hear from him. Kind of hurt my feelings. I could’ve used the business.”
Rhodes wondered just how badly Ed’s feelings had been hurt. He said, “He must’ve been happy about the deal. He seemed to like her.”
“I wouldn’t know about that,” Ed said.
He didn’t seem to want to talk about Aubrey, so Rhodes said, “How much did he like her?”
“I’m sure I don’t know. It’s none of my business how she got him to do a deal. I don’t discuss my competitors.”
Rhodes changed the subject. “Jake’s death might not have been an accident. You know anybody who might’ve had something against him?”
“Not an accident?” Ed didn’t look as surprised as Rhodes had thought he might. “Who’d want to hurt Jake, now that he was doing some good around here?
“That’s what I’m trying to find out. You have any ideas?”
“Not a one.”
Rhodes saw that he wasn’t going to get very far with that line of questioning. “I guess you knew Jake’s sister. You must’ve been about the same age.”
Ed looked up over Rhodes’s shoulder, as if he saw something interesting in the parking lot. Rhodes almost turned to look, but he didn’t. He was sure there was nothing out there other than the Tahoe.
“That was a long time ago,” Ed said. “High school days. Ancient history now.”
“She died in some kind of accident, I think.”
Ed continued to look at something over Rhodes’s shoulder. Maybe it was something only he could see.
“Yeah, she did. Sad story. Car went off the road. Hit a tree. Killed her instantly. So I heard.”
“She was alone in the car?”
“What I heard.” Ed finally looked back at Rhodes. “I wasn’t there.”
“Do you know if she’d been drinking?”
“I just told you I wasn’t there. Why are you asking about Gwen?”
“Someone mentioned her today. Said Jake changed after she died.”
Ed looked back out at the parking lot. “That’s true, I guess. I don’t remember all that well, but it seems like he wasn’t ever the same. Well, until here lately. He’s getting out of the house now and showing himself in town.”
“He hasn’t been in touch with you at all?”
“Nope. He wouldn’t have any reason to be, now would he? He got Aubrey to help with the theater deal, not me, as we’ve said.”
“I wonder why he didn’t come to you.”
“Don’t know. His business who he deals with.”
“He thought about you at least once,” Rhodes said. “You know about the play that’s planned for the grand opening of the theater?”
“I’ve heard a little. That’s a year or more away, though.”
“It’s based on A Christmas Carol. Jake specified in his will that he wanted you to play a part in it.”
For the first time Ed looked disconcerted. “Me? A part in a play? What are you talking about?”
“You’d be Scrooge,” Rhodes said. “He gets visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. He’s reminded of a lot of things he’d rather forget.”
“That’s just crazy. I don’t believe in ghosts. I don’t know anything about the play. I’m not an actor, and I’m not going to be in any play. I don’t know what Jake was thinking. I haven’t seen him in years. Nobody told me about this.”
“He wanted you, Ron Gleason, Glenda Tallent, and Al Graham to be in it.” Rhodes said. He didn’t mention that the will said that Jake wanted him to be in the audience. “Maybe it was supposed to be a surprise.”
“Well, it damn sure is.” Ed looked at his watch. “Too bad I can’t do it. I have an appointment in ten minutes. Got to show the old Logan house to somebody from Houston who wants to get out of the big city and retire to a nice, quiet little town. That is, if you don’t have any more questions for me about Jake.”
Rhodes didn’t believe that Ed had an appointment, considering what had been said earlier, but he didn’t think he was going to get anything else from him. He stood up.
“I don’t want to keep you from making money. Those folks from Houston will love the old Logan place, I’m sure.”
“I hope so,” Ed said. He’d regained his composure. “I’ve been trying to find a buyer for months. Nearly a year. Not a lot of houses moving these days.”
“Good luck, then,” Rhodes said.
Ed got up and fetched his hat from the coat rack. He curled the brim, then settled it on his head. He walked over to Rhodes and said, “I hope you’re wrong about Jake’s death not being an accident. I’d sure hate to think somebody killed him.”
“Me, too,” Rhodes said.
Chapter 15
Ron Gleason wasn’t at home. His wife was, however. Genie Gleason was a slim woman who looked years younger than Ron because she was. Ron had been a bachelor for a long time and gotten married when he was in his forties to a young woman who worked in his office at the city hall. People around town had said it would never last, but it had, and it seemed to be a solid union.
“Ron’s at the cabin,” Genie told Rhodes when she answered the door. “He always has a big fish fry for his friends at his office this time of year. Not that he has an office anymore. He started doing it when he was with the water department, and he’s kept on doing it. He invites the people who used to work there with him.”
“You’re not going?” Rhodes said.
“I’m going,” Genie said. “I’m just letting Ron do all the work to get ready. I’ll be leaving in an hour or so. What do you want with him? I hope he’s not going to jail for frying fish.”
Rhodes grinned. “I’m not going to spoil his fish fry. I just wanted to talk to him about someone he knew a long time ago. Jake Marley.”
“Poor Jake. It’s so sad, what happened to him.”
“It is,” Rhodes said. “Did Ron hear from him lately?”
“I think they talked on the phone a time or two. Not for long, though. Ron hadn’t seen Jake in years and years.”
“Jake liked to keep to himself, all right. Where’s this cabin of yours?”
“It’s on some acreage we own outside of town,” Genie said. “Ron built it when he retired.”
She gave Rhodes directions on how to get there, and Rhodes realized that the cabin was located along the same county road that ran behind Jake Marley’s property, about a mile away.
“Thanks,” Rhodes said. “I’ll drive out that way. Maybe I can give him some help.”
“The cabin’s set back off the road,” Genie said, “kind of back in the woods. The gate to the road will be open, so you can just drive in. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding it. Just follow the ruts.”
“I can do that,” Rhodes said.
* * *
The cabin was set well back off the road in a little clearing in the woods, which weren’t as thick here as they were in the southeastern part of the county but which were thick enough to get lost in.
Rhodes parked well out of the ruts and away from the house so that if any of Ron’s guests arrived, they could park easily and wouldn’t block the Tahoe. He got out of the Tahoe and looked over the cabin. It wasn’t anything Abe Lincoln would’ve recognized. It appeared to have only one room, but the outside was shielded by weather-resistant siding, and the roof was covered with high-quality shingles. The windows were small, but they had double panes.
In front of the house were two long wooden picnic tables with benches. Not too far away sat an old black washpot on an iron grate. Several large rocks helped balance it there. Rhodes walked over and looked into the pot. It was about half full of cooking oil. Pieces of dried wood lay under the pot.
Ron Gleason came out of the house and saw Rhodes. “Hey, Sheriff. Did you come for some catfish and hush puppies? I’m about to get the fire started, and you’re welcome to stay. There’ll be plenty.”
Ron wasn’t slim like his wife, but he was taller and carried his weight well. He had on a black trucker’s cap with a bill that shadowed his face, faded jeans, and a green shirt. He also wore a stained apron that had once been white but was now a sort of off-gray color. He had big hands and wore a large Masonic ring on his right ring finger.
“Caught the catfish myself,” Ron said. “Cleaned ’em, filleted ’em, and froze the filets in water. They’ll be just like fresh. I got ’em inside now, all thawed and soaking in buttermilk. I’ll put the meal on ’em in a few minutes and cook ’em. The meat’ll be so tender it’ll melt in your mouth.”
Rhodes thought about the offer and was tempted. Fried fish right out of the grease and onto the plate would be hard to beat, especially with hush puppies on the side. If Ivy had been with him, he’d have accepted, but she wasn’t, so he didn’t.
“I wish I could stay,” he said, “but I just came by to ask you a few questions about Jake Marley.”
“That was a hell of a thing, him falling like that,” Ron said. “Let me get us a couple of lawn chairs and we can sit down.”
He went inside and came back out with two folded lawn chairs, a butane lighter, and some newspaper. He stopped and gave Rhodes the chairs.
“Unfold those things while I light the fire,” Ron said. “I need to get it started so the oil can come to a nice boil.”
Rhodes unfolded the chairs and sat in one of them while Ron started the fire and got it going. It was getting late, and the sun had started to go down. Standing close to the fire might feel good later on.
“I got lights on in the cabin,” Ron said, coming to sit beside Rhodes. “What’d you want to ask me about Jake? I haven’t seen him for years, so I doubt I can help you much.”
Funny how Jake had started appearing in public, yet nobody admitted having seen him, Rhodes thought. “He hasn’t been in touch with you about anything?”
“Not me. I don’t work for the city anymore, so I couldn’t help him with the water in that old building even if he asked me to.”
“But he didn’t ask you,” Rhodes said.
