“What do you see, James?” Lucy demanded. “Is Hailey in there?”
“No.” James swiveled on the steps. “I think our intruder was in here first, but didn’t find what he was looking for. The cushions are all torn, there’s food all over the floor, and all the ceiling tiles are smashed. The radio’s even been ripped right out of the dashboard. If Hailey walked in on someone doing this, she would have told someone and there’d be cops here by now, I’d think.”
“So where is she, then?” Bob asked frantically. “Where’s my girl?”
Lindy placed a comforting hand on Bob’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’s fine. She’s probably off looking for you.”
James knew Lindy well enough by now to know that she didn’t actually subscribe to this belief. The clouds had released a wash of pale moonlight that served to emphasize the fearful look in her round eyes. She gazed up at James as he stood, frozen with foreboding, on the camper steps.
“Time to call Sheriff Jones,” James said, directing his comment to Lucy. She nodded solemnly and dug around in Lindy’s overstuffed purse until she found her cell phone. As she spoke in a low, rapid voice, Bennett examined the damaged cooker.
“Can you dig those Jeep keys outta that thing?” Bennett asked Lindy as he pointed at her bag. “I’m afraid if I put my hand in there I may never get it back.”
Scowling, Lindy rummaged on the bottom of her purse until her hand closed on Lucy’s key chain, which was a polished steel German shepherd.
“This would make a good weapon in a pinch,” Bennett said, taking the key ring. “Be back in two shakes of a shepherd’s tail.”
“Oh, brother.” Lindy sank into one of the folding chairs as Bob began pacing around the cooker.
By the time Lucy had completed her call, Bennett had returned from his short trip to Lucy’s car and was breathing hard. After a few minutes, he said, “I gotta have a look in that cooker before the fuzz shows up.”
Lucy frowned. “I wouldn’t recommend referring to the sheriff that way.”
“That fine woman? Wouldn’t dream of it. ‘Goddess of Justice’ suits her best, yessir.” Bennett smiled to himself and pointed the beam of the flashlight into the black cavity of the cooker lid. Bennett then partially closed the lid, clearly trying to judge the overall thickness of it.
“There’s plenty of room to hide something in here,” he stated, tapping on the metal until they could all hear a hollow echo. “Not only that, but the way this thing’s designed, the heat wouldn’t even get to this chamber. There’s no air flow to the whole right side of the cooker and this top part here—where our Man in Black was cuttin’—it’s also covered by a thick heat shield, so it wouldn’t be affected by the drafts comin’ from the left side.”
“How do you know how this cooker works?” Lindy asked in amazement.
“I’ve sneaked peeks at James’s history of barbecue book. There’s a diagram in there on how air flows through these commercial cookers. Both times we saw Jimmy and Hailey usin’ this cooker, they were only grilling on the left side. I bet this whole upper right lid has stayed nice and cool. The dripping pan is clean as a river rock and there isn’t a trace of a single wood pellet in here.” He angled the flashlight into the crack created by the welding torch. “So if Jimmy didn’t use it for cooking, what might he have been storing in here?”
“Bet it’s drugs,” Bob quickly offered.
Lucy’s eyes grew large. “What makes you say that?”
“Jimmy was just too damned jolly. Didn’t matter what was wrong in his life, he acted relaxed and chipper to everybody but Hailey. And all that extra flab he’s gained over the last few months. He’s twice the man he was at the last festival. And his skin looked all bloated and rubbery, ya know? And he was cold when no one else was, but he’d be sweatin’ buckets five minutes later. Wasn’t normal, if you ask me.”
“Mr. Lang had those symptoms because he had an advanced case of hypothyroidism,” said a deep voice from behind Bob. Deputy Neely trailed a hand along the sloped hood of Jimmy’s trailer and examined the front tire as though he was considering purchasing the vehicle. “This medical condition also accounts for the puffy appearance of his face, sensitivity to cold, hoarseness in the throat, flaky skin, and hair loss. The victim had no traces of medication in his body or in his recreational vehicle and therefore, we assume he was entirely unaware that he suffered from hypothyroidism. He was in the late stages of the illness, in fact.”
“Thank you, Deputy.” Sheriff Jones appeared beside Neely and shot her subordinate a look that could freeze an avalanche into stagnation. Without a word to anyone else, she opened the door to Jimmy’s camper and then went inside. Deputy Neely followed her, looking subdued.
Deputy Harding had also arrived with the sheriff. He issued James a polite nod. James remembered how Harding had made it possible for James to speak with Gillian, and he felt confident enough in the man’s capacity for compassion to prod him for information while the sheriff was out of earshot.
“Guess you guys got the medical examiner’s results,” James stated casually.
Harding muttered, “Yep,” took a Maglite from his belt, and began to inspect the cooker.
“We’ve got the welding torch he used to bust into that grill,” Lucy boasted. “You might want to check it for fingerprints.”
Harding eyed Lucy expectantly. “Where is it?”
Lucy gave her purse a smug pat while Harding snapped a pair of latex gloves onto his hands. Without saying a word, he reached out for Lucy’s bag and after a moment’s hesitation she reluctantly passed it to him. Harding placed a pair of sunglasses over his eyes, started the torch, and deftly continued cutting the cooker lid where the man in black had left off.
It was fascinating to watch the white and orange-tinged flame slowly eat through the metal. Harding worked patiently, his hands steady and firm as they guided the torch. Within several minutes, Harding had created a C-shaped panel. Switching off the welding torch, he pushed his sunglasses high onto his forehead and tugged at the separated section of metal. He was only able to lift it up a few inches, but it was enough to allow the light of his flashlight to penetrate into the lid’s cavity. Harding grunted and James and his friends couldn’t help but gather around the cooker to see what the deputy had discovered.
Harding was too consumed in his task to notice that he had an audience, but when he wriggled a large, plastic-wrapped bundle free from the opening he had made, Lucy gasped and he seemed to suddenly recall that he was being observed.
“Is that marijuana?” Lucy asked him, standing on her tiptoes to get a better look. “Is there more in there?”
Torn between continuing with his search and spending his time dispersing the onlookers, Harding dropped the bag to his side and bent over the cooker again. He removed bag after bag until a mound of small, plastic-wrapped bundles had been laid out on the grass in a neat line next to his right foot.
“Sheriff!” Harding called out once the cooker had been totally emptied of its secret cache. “I think you’d best take a look out here!”
The sheriff calmly stepped down from the camper and squatted down in the grass in order to examine the bundles. She squeezed them, sniffed them, and turned them over and over as Neely held a flashlight for her. Finally, she whispered some instructions to Neely and then turned to face an agitated Bob Barker and the supper club members.
“We’ll need to take statements about what you witnessed here this evening,” the sheriff said briskly. “Did any of you recognize the intruder?”
“I’m pretty sure he was one of the Marrow Men,” James spoke up hesitantly. Noting the look of doubt on Harding’s face, James continued. “I know it’s dark, but the moon was out at one point and when the torch lit up his profile, I was sure it was him. The guy I saw arguing with Jimmy before his death.”
Sheriff Jones glanced up at the sky, where lumps of ash-colored clouds formed a barricade over the moon. Only trace amounts of weak light escaped from the cloud cover. “But are you certain it was him?” She turned her penetrating gaze on James. “Would you swear to this man’s identity in a court of law?”
James felt doubt assailing him. “Ah …” He turned to his friends in search of support, and they gave him brief nods to assure him that they also believed that the intruder was the man who wore the San Antonio Spurs baseball cap. “Yes,” James answered with confidence. “I don’t know his name, but I could show you who he is.”
“It was Mitch Walker,” Bob stated firmly. “No doubt about it. And this fellow’s right. He’s one of the Marrow Men. I looked right into his face, Sheriff. It was Mitch.”
Silence followed Bob’s statement. The deputies turned their attention to the bundles on the ground, but Sheriff Jones kept her eyes locked on Bob.
Suddenly, Bennett stepped forward and inserted himself between the sheriff and her deputies. He gestured angrily at the cooker. “Do you still think Gillian O’Malley is involved in this? You think a dog groomer from Quincy’s Gap is trafficking pot? That she’s dealing in illegal drugs with a tow truck driver from Texas who killed her husband?”
Bennett slammed his palm hard against the cooker and everyone jumped, except for the sheriff, who didn’t react at all. “This is about drugs and money! Where’d Jimmy get this fancy camper?” Bennett seethed. “Gillian’s got nothin’ to do with that! Who are these drugs for? Who was Jimmy gonna sell them to? Or did he screw somebody over?” Bennett jabbed his finger into his temple. “
These
are the pertinent questions that have gotta be asked and Gillian’s got no answers for you, so give the woman back to us! And I’m not givin’
any
kind of statement until she’s free.” He slapped the cooker again. “I’m tired! We’re
all
tired!” He put his hands on his hips and matched Sheriff Jones’s stare.
After a few moments in which James was afraid to release his pent-up breath, Sheriff Jones blinked. “Are you finished?” she asked Bennett, her voice completely calm.
“Just give her back to us,” Bennett repeated softly, but with the same level of passion. He let his hand fall back to his side.
“Ms. O’Malley has been free to leave since this afternoon. She has been most cooperative and we had no cause to hold her any longer,” the sheriff replied evenly. “However, she fervently requested that I allow her to remain in her cell overnight. She said that she sought a few more hours of solitude.” For the first time that evening, kindness softened her eyes and turned up the corners of her full lips. “Now, I don’t run a hotel, and I think Ms. O’Malley would appreciate being picked up first thing in the morning as our breakfast isn’t exactly on par with the Sunday spread laid out at Fox Hall, but I couldn’t say no to such a simple request.” Her face grew stony again. “Not all demands are so easily met, Mr. Marshall.”
Bennett shifted on his feet. The blaze of intensity was gone from his dark eyes. “I apologize, ma’am. I let my hot head get the better of me. I had no idea that that crazy woman
wanted
to be alone in a cell, but now that you mention it, I can sure see her lighting those little candles and sittin’ cross-legged while she
communed with her inner spirit.
”
The sheriff smiled. “She actually said something to that effect. And your apology is accepted. In fact, I think Ms. O’Malley is fortunate to have friends such as yourselves, but now that she is free to go, you should steer well clear of this investigation. I don’t expect to see any of you again unless you’re fulfilling your judging duties or enjoying the activities of this festival.”
“But what about Hailey?” Bob interjected. “She doesn’t know anything about this mess either, I’m sure of it. And we’ve got to find her! Maybe she’s been kidnapped or somethin’!”
The sheriff gestured at one of the lawn chairs. “Why don’t you have a seat, sir? I’ll speak with you in a moment. As for the rest of you, I think you should go on back to the inn and get some sleep. We’ll need you to give statements about this evening, but I’m short-staffed at the moment and we’ve got our hands full here, so they can wait until morning.” The sheriff gestured at the bags of drugs and then winked at Bennett with such subtlety that James wasn’t even sure he had seen it. In a low, husky voice, she said, “I’ll expect
you
bright and early, Mr. Marshall.”
Though they had clearly just been dismissed, James thought Bennett might float away with the next breeze. He nodded mutely and practically skipped toward the parking lot.
“Well, we did it, friends!” Lindy clapped her hands. “Gillian will be out tomorrow and we can judge the blueberry pie-eating contest and then get the hell out of this town!”
“No we can’t! The case is still unsolved!” Lucy protested. “Hailey could be in danger
or
she could be involved in this whole drug scheme. We have a responsibility to help!”
James climbed into Lucy’s Jeep, grateful to be sitting down again. “It’s true,” he said in agreement. “If we hadn’t been snooping around tonight, the drugs could have just disappeared and the sheriff might never have known about them. I know she wants us to butt out, but we may as well keep our eyes and ears open while we’re still here.”
Lucy beamed at James in the rearview mirror.
“Oh, I guess you’re right,” Lindy sighed. “Besides, if we don’t keep investigating, how else is Bennett going to find a way to hit on Sheriff Jones? Huh, buddy?” She reached around from her position in the passenger seat and poked Bennett on the top of his foot with one of her long fingernails.