Bloodier Than Fiction, page 11
With a yank, she pulled open her car door then climbed in. She slammed then locked the door, fumbled for her keys in the ignition, and looked in Patrick’s direction. She saw the flashlight bobbing up and down as he was in pursuit.
“I didn’t think that big lummox would be able to catch up.” She panted as she threw the car into gear and sped away. Her heart was pounding, her vision was crystal clear, and her breathing was slowly returning to normal. Although she wasn’t sure exactly what she’d seen, she was sure it was something that Gary would be interested in knowing about. He’d be thrilled.
Chapter 17
“What were you thinking, Mags?” Gary ran his hand through his hair then let it fall and slap against his thigh.
“What are you talking about? That guy is a menace, and I think he was up to something. He chased those kids away after he shook one of them like he was nothing more than a rag doll. What’s he doing in the park at three thirty in the morning? Tell me that’s not the behavior of an oddball,” Maggie said.
“Maggie, you were out there too. Yes. That is the behavior of an oddball,” Gary said. “I know you’ve lived here forever. So have I. But walking around by yourself at three in the morning isn’t smart in any town, no matter how long you’ve lived there and think you know everyone.”
“So, are you going to question him as to why he was out there?” Maggie huffed and pulled her lips down in a frown. “I’m sure he was looking for something he left behind after he killed Harold Beebe for trying to steal from his shop.”
“That isn’t what he was doing out there,” Gary replied. “I’ve run into Patrick at least a dozen times when I’m working the night shift. He suffers from insomnia.”
“And you believe him?”
“He’s been roaming the town at night for months,” Gary replied.
“If he’s been roaming the town for months, then how come he didn’t see anything the night Harold was killed? He didn’t hear anything? That sounds very convenient,” Maggie replied.
“Maggie, Patrick has been in Fair Haven for almost a decade. Sure, he’s rough around the edges, but he’s no killer. Now, I want you to promise me that you aren’t going to go out traipsing around town in the middle of the night,” Gary scolded.
Maggie screwed up her lips before she looked him in the eyes. There was a flicker of worry there for a brief second, but then it was gone and replaced with that stern policeman look. She nodded. Still, she couldn’t help feeling that Patrick had something to do with what was going on. He was certainly more of a suspect than Casper was. Although Casper’s behavior was also suspicious.
“Gary, I need to tell you something,” Maggie said. “I probably should have told you sooner, but I didn’t. I was afraid I was jumping the gun.”
“What is it?”
Maggie proceeded to tell Gary about Casper’s interaction with Harold and Maynard. That they had been waiting for him for several days outside the store and that with each visit, things seemed to escalate. They were pushing him around, and he’d come in with a black eye the day before Harold was found dead.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just thought there would be something to solidify my gut feeling that Casper had nothing to do with this.”
Gary was writing everything down. His face had no expression. There was no kindness in his eyes like there had been just a few short days ago when he took her statement after she’d found Harold’s body. Finally, she let out a deep sigh.
“Is there anything else?” he asked.
Maggie shook her head.
“Okay. I’m going to take this to the sheriff. He’ll be in touch if he needs anything else,” Gary said and turned to leave the bookstore.
“Gary, I’m sorry,” Maggie said.
She only got a tired smile and a nod in return. That was worse. It was one thing to have a guy like Patrick not like you. It was another to have someone who had only ever been nice feel like you let them down. Maggie kicked herself for the rest of the day. How could she have been so stupid and not told him everything? She wasn’t a detective or a cop. All day at the bookstore, Maggie walked around in a daze, kicking herself for causing Gary to be mad at her.
“Mags, are you all right?” Babs asked when Maggie came in for a cup of coffee. For some reason, the blond woman’s cute face made Maggie open up and let her know what she’d done.
“Please don’t tell Joshua. He thinks I’m crazy as it is.” Maggie wrapped her hands around the warm cup of coffee and took a sip. It was delicious. That made her remember the bitter freeze-dried stuff she gave to Gary when he’d been working so hard. Again, her gut twisted with guilt.
“Well, I think you are crazy too. Gary is right. You could have gotten hurt. A young man stronger and younger than you was stabbed to death. Do you think if you ran into the same person, he’d see you wrinkle your nose and squint adorably and let you go?” Babs asked.
“I don’t think that,” Maggie replied.
Babs smiled kindly. “You’ve got a couple of good fellows who care about you here. Don’t make them worry. Especially the one in the badge. He won’t be able to do his job well if he’s always worrying about you.”
“Oh no.” Maggie huffed. “You don’t think he’ll be distracted now, do you? What have I done? Gary and I have known each other since high school. If anything happened to him, I’d never forgive myself.”
“Calm down. You said he’s just going to talk to the sheriff. Let him be,” Babs soothed.
“Maybe I should call him?”
“I think it would be better to let that sleeping dog lie. He won’t stay gone long. Tell me, how do you feel about Gary?” Babs asked, batting her long black lashes and smirking slightly.
“Why do you ask?”
“No reason. It’s just that he seems like the kind of guy a girl would like to have around?” Babs looked down at the napkins she was pulling from a plastic bag to replenish the holders and then peeked at Maggie.
“What guy a girl would like to have around?” Joshua asked as he came in from the back room, pulling off the work gloves he was wearing.
“None of your business,” Maggie quipped.
“Gary,” Babs said and watched Joshua’s reaction with an arched eyebrow.
“Oh. Yeah. Gary is a nice guy. Yeah. I like him,” Joshua stuttered and looked at Babs to Maggie and back again. “Um, did I leave a box of nails out here?”
Babs shook her head slowly with a sly grin on her face.
“They must be in the back, and I’m just not seeing them,” Joshua said and smiled awkwardly. “I better get back to work. Oh, and the window looks great. I can’t believe what you did. I mean, it’s really beautiful. Just amazing. Yes. Don’t you think, Babs?”
“Yes, Josh. I told her so when I came in this morning,” Babs replied. “Roy and Earl were both blown away. Earl can only see the colors, but Roy was impressed. He loves Walter Payton. I just want to know how you came up with such a cool idea. You must really like football.”
“She will after the game tomorrow,” Joshua said. “I’ve got everyone’s tickets. It’s going to be a blast.”
Maggie pursed her lips. She didn’t want to think about the football game. That was the last thing on her mind. She wanted to know how to make it up to Gary for keeping such important information from him. Without saying another word, she took her coffee into the bookshop. There were people milling around, chatting and looking at the books as she came back in and took her seat at the counter. She smiled and was happy to see some of the copies of old classics move off the shelves, but still, her mind was on Gary.
Casper had showed up for work as if nothing strange had happened at all. He didn’t mention running into her at the grocery store, let alone their mutual confrontation with Patrick. Nor did he say anything about leaving her standing outside the store with a box of Ding Dongs in her hand. The fact she had to be marched back inside like a criminal was enough to make her pout her lips and shiver. She’d paid for her snacks while all the evening shoppers watched. It was quite a spectacle.
By the time Maggie locked up the bookshop for the night, she couldn’t stand it anymore. She had to go talk to Gary. He didn’t call her back or stop in the store to tell her what the sheriff had said or if he went to talk to Maynard about their issue with Casper. So if the mountain wouldn’t come to her, she was going to go to the mountain.
After steadying her nerves, she headed off in the direction of the police station. If he wasn’t there, Gloria would know where he was. But before she could get there, the screaming siren and rolling red globes of an ambulance caused her to pull to the side of the road. Tailing close behind was Gary in his squad car. She was sure of it. Breaking all kinds of rules of the road, Maggie hit the brakes, backed up over the sidewalk, put the car back in drive, and hit the gas, making the messiest and most illegal U-turn in Fair Haven history. But she followed behind the first responders and realized too late they were heading toward Ricmorris Commons.
Chapter 18
Maggie felt the steering wheel get slick in her hands. She swallowed hard, but her mouth had gone dry. What were the chances of something having happened to someone else at the Commons? Something in her gut told her it was Maynard they were rushing to. Once all the vehicles snaked their way into the parking lot, Maggie found a place to park out of the way and unseen. She quickly got out of the car and watched where the ambulance parked. Sure enough, it was Maynard Ramsey’s place.
“Oh no,” she muttered as she climbed out of her car. Within seconds, she’d crossed the parking lot and saw Gary get out of his squad car and hurry to the front door of the apartment. There was a woman in her late fifties, maybe early sixties, wearing a tank top and jeans, who was standing to the side of the door crying. She looked rough with skin tinted gray from years of smoking, and it hung loosely around her arms and neck.
The paramedics were the first ones inside the apartment. Maggie’s first thought was that Maynard had tried to kill himself. After witnessing the way Sheriff Smith was putting the screws to him, maybe he thought he had no way out of whatever trouble he was in. She wrung her hands as she inched her way up to the scene and blended in with the other neighbors who were gawking at the scene. A couple of other officers from the station, young guys that Maggie didn’t know formally but had seen around, were keeping everyone back. Her best bet would be to wait until Gary appeared before trying to get any information.
Instead, Maggie watched the woman at the door who was crying. Was she his mother? Did he live there with that shriveled woman? She might have been pretty at one time, before the elements had mercilessly chipped away at her over the years, removing all the youth and vitality and replacing it with creases in her skin and grime that wouldn’t come off. Maggie felt sorry for her.
It was an excruciating amount of time that passed before anyone emerged from the apartment. Gary was the first one. He looked to the woman standing outside the door being comforted by another woman. Maggie didn’t hear what he said to her, but from her reaction, it wasn’t good. He put his hand on the woman’s shoulder, said a little more, and then gave her a business card. He touched her hand gently one more time before turning and heading toward his car while talking into the radio attached to his shoulder. Just as he was about to get in the car, he saw Maggie. He blinked as if he wasn’t sure of his own eyes but then, realizing he was seeing clearly, pinched his lips together and came closer.
“What are you doing here?” He didn’t look completely mad, but there was a hint of annoyance in his voice.
“I was coming to see you, and you passed me in the opposite direction. So I followed you, and here I am. What happened?” Maggie asked, hoping the situation would be enough to distract Gary from being mad at her.
“Maynard Ramsey is dead. Someone came in and put a bullet to the back of his head. There wasn’t anything we could do for him. He’s been there about half a day, if I had to guess.” Gary wiped his forehead with his hand.
“Oh no. Do you have any leads?”
“That is information for the authorities, Mags. I’m sorry, but none of this is your concern,” Gary said. “Please, go home, and don’t make me worry about you.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m a grown woman.”
“I know that, Mags. But you aren’t a cop. Please, just go home. I’ve got work to do, and I can’t be worrying about you and getting things done right here.” Gary gave her a slight smile but didn’t say anything else.
Maggie wanted to stand there and argue some more, but now wasn’t the time. He was needed, and she was in the way. Fine.
She watched him walk to his car and sit inside behind the wheel, talking into his radio. He was obviously telling Sheriff Smith what had happened. Maggie looked around at the onlookers who were trying to get a glimpse of something gruesome to tell their friends about. That was when she saw him. Hanging back slightly was a tall, lanky-looking young man in a hoodie with a baseball cap. He was intently studying the situation as it unfolded. For a split second, Maggie thought it was Casper. They had the same build, the same look, and Maggie was sure she saw a flash of sandy-brown hair sticking out from beneath his cap. She couldn’t be sure unless she got a little closer.
It didn’t take long for her to make her way to the right side of the apartment complex, where the young man was looking over the heads of the rest of the crowd that had congregated outside the apartment. There wasn’t a single person paying any attention to him. He was like a ghost just floating and hovering around, but Maggie was sure there was something odd about the way he was watching. Like he was waiting for them to discover something else? Maybe he just wanted to make sure the job was done and Maynard was indeed dead.
“Maybe he’s just a guy who is morbid and lurking around hoping to see some blood too. Did you ever consider that?” she mumbled.
But as she got closer, she noticed something else about this guy. His gym shoes were white and had a couple red specks on them. They were also the newest style of some designer brand that Maggie had seen on television. A pair of those cost the same as her rent. His jeans were black. His sweatshirt was black. By this time, Maggie knew he wasn’t just a casual observer. He was up to something.
After squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath, she decided she was going to rush up to this stranger and start asking questions. But before she could make a scene, he locked his eyes with hers. It wasn’t Casper. Close, but not him. This man’s eyes were nearly black and bore into her so intently that she could barely see the rest of his face. He knew she knew he didn’t belong there. It was a glare that stopped her in her tracks and made her tremble.
Before she could even think of what to do next, the young man turned and dashed off between two of the buildings. He was gone, but he’d gotten a good look at her. Maggie stood out like a sore thumb in her cuffed blue jeans with a button-down blouse and cardigan.
“And you got a good look at him, too, Mags,” she tried to comfort herself. But it didn’t work.
“Maggie! Go home!” Gary shouted from the car. “If I have to tell you again, I’m going to have you arrested for interfering with a crime scene investigation.”
Maggie gasped as she whirled around to see not just Gary looking at her but the entire group of rubberneckers. Once again, just like at the grocery store the other night, Maggie was the center of attention for all the wrong reasons. She attempted to say something, but Gary turned his back and marched back into the apartment. Everyone was waiting for Maggie to leave. She felt her cheeks turn red as she turned and walked to her car. Now she’d have to wait to find out all the details of what happened to Maynard.
Even though the strange man watching everything happen stuck in her craw, she didn’t think Gary would be in any mood to listen to her. She’d call Gloria at the station and tell her to have Gary contact her immediately once he reported to the station. Maybe the tall, lanky, Casper look-alike was nothing. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe he was just a guy like Patrick Cusik. An oddball in the neighborhood that was harmless, even if they were intimidating looking. Maggie was sure that Gary would come back with some story about this kid, that he was just a guy who likes the flashing lights and shows up at every police call just to watch the red lights roll around in their plastic domes.
Still, Maggie had a weird feeling about the guy. She hurried back to her car and, once inside, locked all the doors. As she pulled away and wove her way back through the apartment complex, she saw him. He was behind the wheel of a sedan with the windows rolled down. It took him a matter of seconds to catch up to her car and tail her closely. He wasn’t honking the horn or speeding up on her. He just followed her as she twisted and turned, hoping to find open road soon. Finally, when she got to the street, she hit the gas and sped in the opposite direction of her home. He took off in pursuit. Maggie’s Dodge Neon was no match for whatever was under the hood of this guy’s car. He easily kept up with her as she tried to turn down the side streets and alleys.
Her first thought was to drive to the police station, but then she remembered that just about every officer was already at Maynard’s place. Gloria might be there all alone, and although Maggie was sure she’d be the kind of woman to shoot first and ask questions later, bringing danger right up to the police station door was not what she wanted to do. Plus, it would take this jerk a couple seconds to see where she was leading him. He’d turn tail, and no one would believe that she was being followed. There was only one place to go, and that was the bookstore. Hopefully Joshua was staying at the upstairs apartment. He’d believe her. At least, she hoped he would.
Chapter 19
“He’s outside, Joshua. I’m telling you he followed me all the way from Ricmorris Commons,” Maggie said as she tried to catch her breath as she sat on the edge of the couch in Joshua’s apartment over the bookstore.
