Bagels and Betrayal, page 7
Chapter Nine
Riley took a knee and checked Brad Griffin's body for a pulse. Brad was deader than a doornail. “And you say there's another dead man in the bedroom?” he asked gruffly.
Bethany nodded. “Yes.”
Riley raised his eyes. Julie and Davy were looking down at him. “Any idea what's going on, Davy?” he asked.
Davy shook his head. “All this happened mighty fast, Riley. I dropped these ladies off and headed back down the mountain. Next thing I know, someone is shooting the tires out of my cab. After that, I ran back to this house. It's been a maze of thoughts ever since.”
“Yeah. I found your cab on the side of the road.” Riley stood up. “Didn't see any other vehicles. Thought I heard a four-wheeler chase off when I pulled up, but I couldn't be sure.” Riley looked into Bethany’s face. “Your mother told me she had a daughter who lived in Alaska.”
“That's me.” Bethany didn't recognize Riley. Riley seemed like a gruff, hard man in her eyes—a man she wanted to stand clear of. “My friend and I are taking a vacation—”
“A holiday,” Julie cut in a quick, clean motion that gently bumped Bethany off to the side. “It's very cold in Alaska right now. Lots of snow, you know? When Bethany told me about the lovely lake house and suggested we take a holiday, I couldn't pass over the offer. It's hard eating frozen muffins and drinking cold tea all winter.”
“Uh-huh,” Riley nodded without showing much interest. “Well, I better go take a look in the bedroom. Davy, take Ms. Lights and Ms. Walsh downstairs, make them some hot tea or something.”
“Sure thing, Riley.”
Bethany watched Riley walk off as if he didn't have a care in the world. The death of that man doesn't bother him at all. He's as cold as ice. Bitterness tapped Bethany's heart. Oh, why get upset? We live in a hateful world full of hateful people.
“Davy, I'll need to get in touch with my mother. I'm canceling the trip. Julie and I are...well, I don't know where we're going. Anywhere but here would be a good start, that's for certain.”
“We'll ride back down the mountain with Riley,” Davy informed Bethany, relieved that his two new friends had no desire to stay up on the mountain. “I'll come back up tomorrow with my brother and get the cab.”
“Good.” Bethany looked at Julie. “Want some coffee?”
“I could use a bite of solid food, to be perfectly honest,” Julie admitted. “My tummy is a bit rumbly.”
“Mine, too,” Bethany confessed. “Mother said she stocked the kitchen for us.”
“I stocked the kitchen,” Davy admitted. “Yesterday, to be exact. There's food in the kitchen. Some good lunch meat in the refrigerator. Maybe some sandwiches might do the trick?”
“Sound good to me.” Julie reached out and patted Bethany's hand. “Let's go eat, love, and then leave. I saw a hotel in town. We can stay there for tonight, and tomorrow we can rent a car and drive...anywhere but here. I think we'll be much safer on the open road.”
“I think so, too. We still don't know who called and threatened you, and it's clear that this incident doesn't involve you personally.” Bethany glanced around and sighed. “We were trapped in a very sudden and deadly situation and did our best to think our way through it. I'm not sure who the two dead men are or who the shooter was. It seems to me that the dead man lying in this hallway was shot dead before he could tell us the truth...shot dead by his own brother, I suppose. Well, no matter. Let's go, Julie.”
Julie nodded and followed Bethany back down to the first floor. Davy followed carrying an old gun that no longer seemed important. The dangers of the night seemed to have passed. The house seemed at rest again—exhausted, but at rest. Davy didn't feel that an unknown killer would return to the house with Riley present. No. The killer had silenced a stool pigeon and fled into the storm. For now, Davy felt that it was safe to have a sandwich with Bethany and Julie, and then travel back down the mountain. And that's exactly what he did.
While Bethany, Julie, and Davy managed to get some solid food down, Riley checked the scene with trained eyes. He was a pilot accustomed to scanning the horizon for any unknown elements. Being a cop was very different from being a pilot, but the mechanisms of operation were still pretty much the same. Every operation had a system of order and protocols that had to be followed. A pilot always carried out a pre-flight checklist. A cop investigated a crime scene using a checklist. Yes, every operation had a system of order and protocols that worked. But as Riley checked the dead body of Patrick Brakemyer, he wasn't confident that following a strict order of operation was going to be the key to finding a deadly killer.
“I have a bad feeling you're the missing newlywed,” he grunted under his breath as a bad feeling twisted the lower part of his gut. “Two dead men...”
Riley didn't recognize Brad Griffin. Why would he? Brad had lived and worked in Raleigh. Sure, Brad had grown up in Pine Lakes until he’d ditched high school, but after that, Pine Lakes was left in his rear-view mirror. “Two dead men...an old house...two strange women...a friend who got stabbed in the back by a poisonous woman...and somehow, all of this is supposed to make sense.” He shook his head and walked out of the bedroom on frustrated legs. Instead of going down to the kitchen, he walked back outside to his car and got Donald on the horn.
“Listen, son, we've got two dead men and a missing killer. Get Tom up here.”
“Tom Stewart...county coroner...got it...two dead men...a killer...” Donald wrote down Riley's instructions as fast as he could, feeling as if the entire sky were falling on his head. His hand shook so badly as he wrote that each word ended up looking like a flattened coyote.
“Calm down, son,” Riley ordered. “Call Edward and Victor. Wake them up and tell them I want them up here before they can wipe the sleep out of their eyes.”
“Wake up two sleepy cops...got it...” Donald scribbled down two names he knew by heart. “Want me to come up—”
“You stay at the station, son,” Riley said firmly. “The station has to be manned at all times. Communication is the key.”
Donald nodded. “I'm the communication man. You can count on me!”
Riley rolled his eyes as hard ice struck the roof of his Oldsmobile. “I'm going back in the house. I'll be out of communication for a bit. I'll check back in with you in half an hour.”
“I'll be here...call the coroner...two dead bodies...wake up two sleepy cops...I got everything!” Donald announced.
“Good. Sheriff out.” Riley let out a heavy sigh, sat still for a moment, listened to the heavy storm batter his car, and dragged himself back inside a defeated house. He worked his way into a large kitchen that walked him back to the year 1894. For a minute, Riley felt that if he closed his eyes, he could actually walk back through time. “My deputy is getting the coroner on the move,” he spoke in a voice that didn't hold much emotion. “Two more of my deputies will be traveling up the mountain in the next half hour or so.”
Bethany and Julie were sitting at a vintage wooden table covered with a soft green tablecloth embroidered with little flowers. A plate of turkey sandwiches was sitting on the table along with a hot carafe full of hot coffee.
“Sandwich, Riley?” Davy asked. He was standing near a locked back door, holding a brown coffee cup in his right hand.
Riley had to admit that he was a bit hungry. A cup of hot coffee didn't sound so bad, either. “Might as well. We're not going anywhere anytime soon. It'll be daylight before we get back down the mountain.” He searched for a spare coffee cup.
“Coffee cups are in that cupboard.” Bethany pointed to a closed cupboard with a quick hand.
Riley nodded, found himself a clean coffee cup, and fetched himself a sandwich. “Mind pouring me some coffee?” he asked Bethany.
Bethany picked up the coffee carafe sitting in the middle of the kitchen table, filled Riley's coffee cup, and then set the carafe back down. “I suppose you want to ask us some questions?”
“In a second.” To Bethany's shock, Riley bowed his head and prayed over the sandwich and coffee he was holding. “Lord, it's a difficult night. Thank you for the provisions that will help. Your mercy is always present. In Jesus’ sweet name I pray, amen.”
“Amen,” Bethany added.
Riley raised his head, took a bite of a delicious turkey sandwich, and decided to sit down. “Your mother called the station and asked me to conduct a welfare check. She said she couldn't get through to you.”
“Phone line was cut,” Bethany explained. She returned to her sandwich. I didn't even consider that mother would try to call me. Of course, Mother would call in order to make sure Julie and I arrived safely and had everything we needed. Score one for the Lights family.
“Well, it's a good thing your mother insisted I drive up here,” Riley said flatly. He took another bite of his sandwich and continued. “My deputy got on the horn with me while I was driving up. A woman named Wanda Brakemyer called the station and reported her husband missing. According to my deputy, this Wanda Brakemyer sounded like she was in her twenties. I think the fella up in the bedroom might be the woman's missing husband. I'll have to get a positive identification, but the stiff isn't likely to be anyone else.”
“That 'stiff' was once a living person, Sheriff Murphy,” Bethany said acidly.
“Not anymore,” Riley fired back in a tone that made Bethany bite down on her tongue. “Davy, you sure you don't know what's going on?”
“Wish I did,” Davy confessed. He took a sip of coffee and focused his eyes on the back door. “My mind is chasing a lot of question marks right now.”
Riley focused back on Bethany and Julie. “Ladies, I need you to tell me everything that you know.”
Julie took a bite of her sandwich, chewed thoughtfully for a minute, and drank some coffee. “Sheriff Murphy, a man called and threatened me while I was in Alaska. My friend Bethany”—Julie nodded toward Bethany—“became worried and brought me to this mountain hoping that I would be safe.”
“What man?” Riley asked.
“I don't know,” Julie offered honestly. “All I do know—and this is a fact—the man who threatened me is not involved in what happened her.”
“How do you know that?” Riley pressed.
“Riley, we heard the killer's voice. And the dead boy lying in the hallway, he talked to us. Both guys had a thick North Carolinian mountain accent. Locals. Only I've never seen them before,” Davy said without taking his eyes off the back door.
Riley looked toward Davy. “What bone are you chewing on, Davy? Why are you staring at the back door like that?”
“This.” Davy nodded at the back door. “The doorknob, to be exact.” Riley stood up and walked to the back door. Davy pointed at the doorknob.
“See that speck of pink?”
Riley leaned forward and spotted what appeared to be a little dust of pink stained on the doorknob.
“My ex-wife wears nothing but pink nail polish.”
Bethany glanced at Julie. All Julie could do was take a bite of food and wait. “Davy—”
“Riley, Rachel Lights hired me to install generators in this house, to make sure this house had plenty of firewood, to stock this house full of food, and then to act as a personal chauffeur for her daughter for the next two weeks. Before you ask, I picked Mrs. Lights up from the airport and we got to talking. I told her I was an electrician. She asked a few personal questions, found out that I was living in my brother's garage apartment, one thing led to the next, and before I knew it, I had myself a side job.” Davy nodded at the doorknob again. “I've been in this house more times in the last year than I can count. Initially, Mrs. Lights wanted the built-in generators for herself. I brought her wood and food, checked on her. When she called me and told me that her daughter was coming to visit, I was rehired.”
“When was the last time Mrs. Lights was here?” Riley asked.
“Mrs. Lights visits every year on the anniversary of her husband's death,” Davy explained. “She used to hire Timmy Logan to help her, but Timmy died last year of cancer.” He continued to stare at the back doorknob. “That pink paint wasn't on that doorknob when I last left this kitchen. The color pink always draws my eyes to it. Tracy is a pink addict.”
“Davy, I can dust for prints and see what I come up with. Other than that, I can't arrest a woman because you found some pink nail polish on a doorknob.”
“No, but maybe you can have one of your deputies drive over to the house that woman stole from me and see if she's home?” Davy suggested, bitterness twisting his voice.
“Yeah, I can do that.” Riley bent down and touched the speck of pink paint that was staining a brass doorknob. “I was at the school board meeting when Tracy Gray—I mean, Tracy Bates—got the boot. I noticed all the pink the woman wearing, too. But it's like I said, I can't go arrest a woman for wearing pink.”
“Yeah. Too bad,” Davy let out a tired grunt and then finally turned away from the back door. “Bethany, Julie, if my ex-wife is behind this mess, I'm truly sorry. I would never endanger your lives.”
“We know that, Davy,” Bethany assured her friend. Pink nail polish on the back door. Mother hates the color pink. Who else could it be other than Davy's ex-wife? The only problem is, I don't have a clue about this awful night. There are too many broken pieces of glass to pick up. She took a slow sip of coffee and then focused on getting a solid bite of food down. What else could she do?
Outside in the storm, Walley Griffin made his way down a back trail on a speeding four-wheeler. He was far from finished with murder.
Chapter Ten
Cold, dark-gray skies pregnant with snow roamed over the Pine Lakes Inn. By noon, a fresh foot of snow had dropped onto the little town. School had been happily canceled—again. Most businesses closed—again. People of all ages were out enjoying the snow—sledding, skiing, building snowmen or snow forts, or just out taking a cold walk. Not a single citizen had a clue that two murders had taken place up on Old Wolf Mountain at the old Lights lake house. Riley had ordered his people to zip their lips or else, and no one dared ruffle Riley's feathers. Bethany had no desire to ever see Riley again, let alone anger the man. She was content sitting in a nice, warm hotel room with Julie, sipping on a cup of hot coffee.
“Davy will be by tomorrow to pick us up. He'll drive us to Raleigh. We'll rent a car there and drive west.”
Julie watched Bethany take a sip of coffee from a lousy paper cup that came with the hotel room. Bethany looked a little tense. “Your mother was really upset, wasn't she, love?”
Bethany set her coffee cup down onto a round table and folded her arms over her dark green sweater. “Yes. Mother was very upset. She has forbidden me to ever go near the lake house again. As a matter of fact, she is considering putting the lake house and the mountain land up for sale.”
“Oh, what a pity.” Julie sat down on the edge of a soft queen-sized bed with a sigh. “I hope your mother will not take such drastic actions.”
Bethany watched her friend scan a heavy brown winter jacket that was a bit too large. The jacket in question had once been hanging on a rack inside O'Mally's Department Store in Snow Falls. Amanda adored it, though Sarah wasn't as enthusiastic. Without Amanda knowing, Sarah had marked the jacket ninety percent off. Julie had happily bought it—a jacket that had sat unsold for over three years. Sarah told Amanda that a happy shopper had finally bought the lovely jacket. Amanda accepted the...truth and forgot all about the matter until she saw her cousin wearing it. When Julie told Amanda how she had found the jacket marked at ninety percent off...well, let's just say that Amanda ate all the kosher chili dogs at O'Mally's Department Store on purpose just to annoy Sarah. Revenge was sweet.
“I doubt Mother will get rid of the lake house and the land. Family value bears more weight than fear.”
“Yes, let's hope so.” Julie considered putting down another cup of coffee, but the idea of drinking such horrid coffee made her stomach cringe. “Want to walk down to the diner? It's a little past lunch time.”
“Is it?” Bethany checked her wristwatch. “My goodness, it seems like we just woke up.” Bethany looked at two queen-sized beds sitting side by side. The idea of rooming alone after experiencing a deadly night up on Old Wolf Mountain hadn’t appealed to Bethany or Julie. The two friends decided that staying in the same room might be safer—or more comforting—than rooming alone. “We've been at this hotel for two days now, and it seems like we just left the mountain.”
“At least the killer hasn't showed up,” Julie pointed out.
Bethany took a slow sip of coffee. “Davy's ex-wife is out of town, too. She hasn't shown up. According to Davy's neighbor, Tracy Bates left to visit New York the day before we arrived. Good timing, I would say.”
Julie stood up and walked over to a long window covered with a thick brown curtain. She eased part of the curtain back and peered out into a white winter wonderland. “It's snowing very heavily, love. The weather is forecasting more snow for the next three days. It's so lovely outside, picturesque. It's such a shame to leave. The lake house would be so lovely to be at right now.”
“I know. I was actually looking forward to staying at the lake house—” Bethany suddenly stopped.
Julie spun around. “What is it, love? Did you spill some hot coffee on you?”
“No, I...” What? Bethany asked herself. Could it be that the killer returned to the lake house? No one is there right now. No one is at the lake house. Sheriff Riley marked the lake house off-limits. Tracy Bates is out of town…
“Uh oh. I know that look. You're having an idea,” Julie winced.
“No, no...I'm just wondering where the killer went to. Sheriff Riley said he heard what sounded like a four-wheeler speeding off when he arrived. Did the killer drive down the mountain and escape? We know that the man he shot is Brad Griffin. We know that the other man—the dead man we found in the bedroom—is Patrick Brakemyer. And according to Sheriff Murphy, Walley Griffin, Brad Griffin's brother, died last year in a car accident. Yet, Brad Griffin insisted that his brother was the killer. Brad Griffin's records show that he doesn't have any other siblings.”
