Blue Moon Rising: A suspense thriller (5 page)

CHAPTER 8

The squad car pulled up to the large country ranch house surrounded by trees and outhouses and barns in the distance. Workers were hauling out carpet pieces from the main house. Dan got out of the squad. He hurried up the walk to the porch and rang the doorbell. A couple of workers carried out another piece of carpet.

“You tearing the house apart?” Dan asked.

One of the workers turned to Dan. “No, Sheriff, just the one room.”

Dan reached up and touched the carpet piece the men were carrying. “Looks like good carpeting.”

“The Senator got tired of the color.”

“Must be nice. I couldn’t tell you what color carpeting was in my living room, let alone whether I liked it or not.”

Dan appeared puzzled. He stood at the door and looked in. Maria Maxwell, the Senator’s third wife, walked out. She was a voluptuous-looking blonde in her late thirties. Definitely what one would call a trophy wife. Especially in the tight fitting black spandex slacks with the oversized sweater that hung over one shoulder. She appeared relieved to see Dan.

“Thank goodness it’s just you,” she smiled widely. It was then she saw the confused look on Dan’s face. “I thought more workers were here. I don’t know what to expect anymore.”

“Is the Senator in?” Dan asked.

Maria’s face turned serious. “Is something wrong?”

“I just need to discuss a few things with him,” Dan remarked, turning to the workers loading the carpet pieces in a truck. “You wouldn’t happen to know if Richie Ames worked yesterday?”

Maria took a deep breath while rolling her shoulders back, exposing her breasts in a way most men found appealing. But when she did not get the usual response from Dan, she dropped her shoulders and then shrugged.

“That was awful what happened.”

Maria’s mannerisms became guarded. “I wasn’t here yesterday. I was in Little Rock at a Daughters of the West dinner. I pulled in early this morning.”

Dan glanced around. “Doing some remodeling?”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into him. We just fixed things up the way he wanted them last year. Now he’s ripping everything out and starting over again.”

Maria stepped aside and motioned Dan to follow her. “I think he’s in the study. Follow me.”

Dan took off his hat and followed Maria in. Maria led Dan into the study. The room was large with knotty pine paneling and an oversized earth stone fireplace that filled one wall. Half the carpeting had already been ripped up. Dan turned to the Senator, who was sitting behind the big oak desk sucking on a large smelly stogie while overseeing the work being done. Senator Maxwell was in his late sixties, with a receding hairline and a potbelly that protruded over his belt.

The Senator stood up while extending his hand. “Why, Dan, what brings you out this way?” he said.

“The Ames boy.” Dan watched the Senator’s reaction for a moment.

Dan shook the Senator’s hand. His fingers were fat and clammy. If the Senator had not been watching, Dan would have wiped his hand on his pants leg to wipe away the sweat.

“Too bad about that. He was a nice kid. A little slow, but a hard worker.”

Maria cleared her throat. Dan had not realized she was still in the room. Maria seemed a little perturbed with Dan because she could not get a rise out of him like she could with the other men around the ranch.

“If you don’t mind, I have to change for a meeting in town,” she added before the men could continue.

“It’s the Senator I wanted to talk to anyway.”

Maria turned around sharply and walked out, going unnoticed by either man.

“How long did Richie work for you?” Dan asked.

“About a year now. He did odd jobs around the ranch,” the Senator remarked.

“Do you remember seeing him yesterday?”

“No. Not really,” the Senator said and then held up his hands. “There’s always things to do in the barn.”

“Do you have anybody who would know for sure whether he was here?”

“Alan might have been around.”

Dan looked surprised. “How’s Alan doing these days?” Dan asked. He was curious about the Senator’s son.

“He has his good days,” the Senator responded and then rolled his eyes. “He hitched himself up with a widow. She got a pretty good inheritance from her husband. Now he lives off her.”

“It was too bad about the breakdown.”

The Senator looked at Dan for a moment. He studied him for the longest time before responding.

“He was a mama’s boy. What can you expect?”

“Wasn’t he studying to be a doctor?” Dan asked.

The Senator waved his hand as if dismissing the remark. He was not happy about Alan or his inability to finish anything he started. Alan had been an embarrassment to him for years.

“That may have been one of the fields he was studying in. There were so many it was hard to keep track.”

Dan cleared his throat. He looked around a moment and then turned back to the Senator.

“Was there anybody else around?”

The Senator thought a moment. “My foreman was up in Little Rock buying cattle.”

Dan gave the Senator a curious look. “Did he go with your wife?”

The Senator’s eyes flashed with anger but Dan continued. “Maria said she was in Little Rock yesterday attending some dinner. I just figured they might have traveled together.”

“You thought wrong!” the Senator snapped sharply.

“So there was no one here yesterday to say whether Richie worked?”

“I guess not.”

“How did he get paid?” Dan asked.

“You’d have to talk to Jack, my foreman. He took care of that.”

Dan nervously looked around. “Where can I find him?” he asks.

“Out back someplace. I don’t stand over him while he works.”

With that, Dan showed himself out. He was always uncomfortable in the Senator’s presence. To him he represented the haves and Dan belonged to the have-nots. Alan had had everything handed to him on a silver platter while he had to work for everything he got.

Dan never regretted having to earn the things he acquired. He tended to appreciate them more. From what he heard about Alan after high school, things did not go easy. Good grades in college were not given out to you just because you were a Senator’s son. They had to be earned, something Alan never had a grasp of. Now to hear he spent his days living off the funds of a widow, only made him dislike Alan even more.

* * *

Dan walked out of the Senator’s house and walked across the drive to the barn. It was there that Jack Finnigan, the foreman, was busy feeding the horses. He picked up a bale of hay and tossed it onto the floor. Jack cut the twine and picked up a sliver of hay and spread it out onto the stall for bedding. Dan walked up to Jack while looking at the thoroughbreds.

“Nice-looking animals,” Dan remarked.

Jack turned to Dan and then smugly said. “The Senator only buys the best.”

Dan laughed. “Yeah. I met his wife.”

Jack shrugged while looking up at Dan and then wiped his brow. “You got something to say?”

“I find it odd that you and the Senator’s wife were in Little Rock on the same day and didn’t travel together.”

“Who said we didn’t?” Jack asked.

“The Senator didn’t know you did.”

“He doesn’t know everything.”

Dan studied Jack a moment. “Apparently not.” Dan hesitated a moment. “How long have the two of you been sleeping together?”

“The Senator tell you to ask me that?” Jack asked with a grin across his face.

“No. He’d like to think Maria only has eyes for him.”

Jack laughed mockingly. “That bitch has been in heat ever since she came of age.” Jack paused before continuing. “Mark my word, no one man will ever be able to satisfy that woman.”

“That bad.”

“On their honeymoon she slipped the Senator a Mickey Finn and then came down to the barn. I caught her doing a threesome with a few of the boys,” Jack licked his lips. “Figured I might as well get in on the action.”

Dan cleared his throat and then glanced around. “That isn’t why I’m here,” Dan quickly added. “I’m checking into the Ames boy. Was he here yesterday?”

“He was supposed to be. The Senator had a special job for him. Normally I like to be here to keep the boy on task.” Jack pointed to his head. “Not all there, if you know what I mean.”

“The Senator didn’t seem to remember.”

“Selective memory, you mean.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Dan looked at Jack and in all actuality was puzzled by the remark, but did not want to appear so. Why the Senator out-and-out lied did not make sense unless he had something to hide. It was nice to know the truth, and when he’d sorted out everything, the Senator would have some explaining to do.

“So the Senator was going to keep an eye on him?”

“That’s what he said.”

“How do you keep track of the hours he works?” Dan asked.

Jack walked over to the shelf near the door. He picked up a tablet from the shelf and then handed it to Dan.

Dan thumbed through the pages. “Says here both Richie and Junior checked in at eight. Doesn’t show them leaving.

“That coincides with what Jeffrey, Richie’s brother, said. He dropped off his brother around eight. Is it unusual for the boys not to put down when they left?” Dan asked.

“Like I said, not all there. The two put together don’t make a whole,” Jack said, pointing to the other entries in the notebook. “Most of the time they didn’t mark it down.” Jack laughed. “The Senator was doing the boy’s father a favor by giving them work. It was more work for me having them under foot.”

Dan stared at the entries and then flipped through the pages and understood what Jack was saying.

CHAPTER 9

Dan woke early as the sunbeams danced across the bed. He listened to the birds outside and wondered if he would ever stop thinking about Kay. This was their favorite time of the day when they would wake up wrapped in each other’s arms. He missed the warmth of her body. He missed the smell of her perfume. Most of all he missed the constant nagging about the little things. He just missed her completely, only as a husband could.

Slowly he got up and walked into the kitchen. He flicked on the manual switch on the coffee maker, not wanting to wait until the auto timer kicked in.

Kelly walked in behind him. “Couldn’t you sleep again?” she asked.

“I didn’t think I made that much noise.”

“You didn’t. I couldn’t sleep either.”

“I’d offer you a cup of coffee, but I think you’re too young for it.”

“I’m going to be sixteen in four months.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Why, because that means you’re getting old?”

“Thanks a lot. I don’t need reminding,” Dan said and then turned around to her and frowned.

“Hey, for the record coffee doesn’t have anymore caffeine than the power drinks the kids are consuming now.”

“And your point being?” he added.

“I’m just telling you a fact.”

Dan looked at Kelly and then shook his head. “I really am regretting talking you into joining the debate team in school.”

“Oh yeah, blame it on them. I was just stating a fact that anyone with any brain knows.”

“You don’t drink them, do you?” Dan asked, scratching his head.

“What if I did, are you going to ground me?”

Dan looked at her a moment. It seemed only yesterday he was showing her how to ride a two-wheeler. Last week he made the mistake of showing her how to hotwire a car. It scared him thinking what she would do with that knowledge now. It was a sad fact she would be driving soon. Where did the time go?

“I better get ready for work. I have a murder to solve.”

Somehow solving this murder seemed a lot easier than trying to raise Kelly to adulthood. There were fewer hurdles to cross.

* * *

Dan walked into the Sheriff’s office. Mac was busy sweeping the floor. It was something he did at the end of the week. Once that was done, he would dust the furniture. Money was tight and the county board felt there was enough downtime that either he or Mac could clean up the offices when not on patrol.

Dan turned to him and asked, “Been quiet this morning?”

“Thursdays usually are.”

“Good,” Dan said. “How’s Junior?”

“Not a peep out of him.”

“Did the medical examiner call?”

Mac grinned. “Were you expecting her to?”

“I was just curious,” Dan added quickly.

Dan took off his gun belt and put it on the rack with his hat. He grabbed the key off the rack and walked over to the cellblock door.

He was glad it was a slow night with no drunks to contend with. He did not know how well Junior would have handled having company.

Dan walked up to Junior’s cell. Junior was sitting on the bunk rocking back and forth, hitting his head on the wall. Dan wondered if the simple-minded kid even slept last night.

“Hey kid, I would think you’d have a headache by now.”

“I want to go home.”

“You can’t. Not until we clean up this mess,” Dan said with a concerned look on his face. He felt sorry for the boy.

Junior stopped rocking. “I don’t like you,” he announced and then started rocking again.

“You okay?” Can I get you anything for breakfast?”

“Mommy makes me rabbit in a hole.”

Dan’s eyes rolled back. He remembered rabbit in a hole like it was yesterday from when Kelly was a little girl. It was one way of getting her to eat a balanced breakfast and not a lot of sugary cereals. Kay always had a way of working around a picky eater and made a meal fun.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Dan finally mustered up to say.

“I’m a good boy,” Junior replied proudly.

“No one is saying you ain’t,” Dan argued. “Junior, can you stop rocking please? I need some information from you right now.”

Junior stopped rocking again and watched Dan as he unlocked and opened the cell door. Dan slowly walked in and stood over Junior for the longest time.

“I didn’t do bad things.”

“Did you work for the Senator two days ago?” Dan asked even though he knew already that he did. He wanted to build some trust with Junior.

Junior just stared ahead as Dan sat down on the other end of the bunk.

“I need to know, Junior,” Dan said, making sure he had Junior’s attention. “You want me to find the person responsible for what happened to Richie, don’t you?”

Dan slid closer to Junior and slowly put his hand on Junior’s knee.

Suddenly Junior attacked Dan. He punched Dan wildly while yelling and screaming. Junior jumped up off the bunk and ran out of the cell as Billy Bob and Mac came running into the cellblock.

Billy Bob tackled Junior before he could reach the door. Junior’s arms flapped wildly while Billy Bob struggled to restrain the boy.

Dan collected himself and wiped the blood off his cheek. Mac walked up to the cell door and glanced down at Dan.

“Looks like you been in a catfight,” Mac mocked with a twinkle in his eye. It surprised him that anyone could get the upper hand on Dan, let alone a simple-minded boy. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. One minute he was okay. I was asking him questions and then he went nuts on me.”

Billy Bob had Junior pinned behind his back and shoved him back into the cell.

“You ain’t going anyplace,” Billy Bob snapped as he turned and walked out of the cell.

Junior cowered when Dan got up. “You’re a bad person,” was all he mustered up to say.

Dan almost grabbed Junior by the arm, but then stopped. “What did I do to set you off?” Dan snapped and then turned and walked out of the cell.

Billy Bob and Mac looked at Dan a moment. The phone started ringing in the office. Mac turned and rushed to the door.

“Duty calls,” Mac said as he rushed out of the cellblock.

Billy Bob shut the cell door and locked it. Dan stood outside the cell, just staring at Junior.

“I wish I could plug into his brain.”

Mac ran back into the cellblock. He was out of breath. “Better get out to Murphy’s place. Says he found bones.”

Dan looked puzzled. “Why should I care about that?”

“Says they’re human,” Mac said, gasping for breath.

Dan did a double take. “It’s probably just a ploy.”

He frowned. This was the last thing he needed right now. Murphy playing games with him to get him out to his place to deal with those damn hogs.

“No. He sounded serious, and he was upset. I don’t think he’s lying.”

Dan motioned for Billy Bob to come along. The two rushed out of the cellblock together.

* * *

The two squad cars sped down city streets and headed out of town to the country. All the while he drove, Dan kept thinking about what he planned to do to Felix if this was only a ploy to get him out there to deal with his hog problem.

Dan pulled into Murphy’s driveway and quickly parked the squad while Billy Bob parked next to him. They got out of their squads. Murphy rushed out of the house. The old coon dog lay sleeping at the bottom of the porch steps and Dan wondered if the dog ever moved off his spot.

“Took you long enough,” Murphy snapped as he rushed over to the squad.

Dan glanced at his watch and then gave Murphy a warning glance. It had been ten minutes since receiving Murphy’s call. There was no reason for him to think that Dan’s response time was not adequate. Under different circumstances he would have called Murphy on it, but he was more concerned about why they were there.

“Mac said you found some bones,” Dan snapped.

“Yeah, while I was out doing your job.”

Dan raised his hands. “I won’t go into that. Just show me where you found those bones.”

Murphy’s hand shook as he pointed in the direction of the tall pines in the distance.

“I spotted them devils digging near a clearing. Suddenly one pulls out this leg bone from the mud and starts chewing.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I know animal bones, and that weren’t no animal bone, trust me.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that.” Dan shook his head at Murphy.

Murphy took a red bandana out of his pocket and wiped his brow. “Nearly crapped in my pants when I saw that thing.”

“Then what?” Dan asked.

“I took aim and shot the son-of-a-bitch.”

“Did you kill it?”

Murphy glanced down. “Wounded him pretty bad.”

Dan turned and walked away, but then turned back to face Murphy. “That’s just great,” he snapped.

“Well what did you want me to do?”

“If you couldn’t take it down, you shouldn’t have taken the shot,” Dan added and then turned to Billy Bob. “Get the rifle out of the trunk. I’m not going anywhere near those woods without something that will take that bastard down in one shot.”

“If you’d been more helpful, none of this would have happened.”

Dan pointed a finger at Murphy. “Don’t turn this around on me. I told you to gather up some of your neighbors. But no! Would you listen?”

“Do you want me to show you the goddamn place or not?”

Dan looked angrily at Billy Bob, who just raised his hands. Billy Bob walked to the back of the squad car and opened up the trunk. He reached in for the rifle.