“Her?”
“That’s right, Holcombe is no longer sheriff and Trent’s in jail for the robbery and trying to kill us. Tina Barron’s the sheriff, at least for now.”
Meredith looked at Ash. “What do you think I should do?”
“I think you should come with us. It’s time to be brave and face what you’ve done.”
“I know. Thank you, Mrs. Lyon.”
I heard the wheelchair lift’s electric motor start and realized that Ewell was coming downstairs to investigate. I said, “Meredith, I think you should go to the truck with Ash. Miss Ewell isn’t going to want you to come with us.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll ruin the big payday she’s got planned.”
Ash and Meredith got into the Xterra as I waited for the old woman. I pushed the door open a little and saw Ewell arrive on the ground floor. As the wheelchair approached, it made a sound that reminded me of agitated bees in a hive.
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Ewell gave me an imperious glare. “Who gave you permission to enter my property? Where is Meredith going?”
“We’ve come to give her a ride into town. She wants to confess to Robert’s murder and don’t bother trying to look surprised because you knew all along.”
“You can’t prove that.”
“I realize that, but you
did
know. I’ll bet your bedroom window on the second floor overlooks the guesthouse, because you’re such a tyrant you’d want to keep an eye on Robert whenever he was here. You knew Robert and Meredith were lovers.”
“The slut seduced my nephew.”
“Oh yeah, everybody knows how virtuous Robert was—a regular Sir Galahad. There’s no way you couldn’t have heard their argument on Friday night when she begged him to stay and—gallant guy that he was—he slapped her for the crime of imagining a Ewell was capable of behaving decently.”
“I’m not interested in your little sermon.”
“Too bad. You sat up there like a fat spider in a web and watched as Meredith murdered him in an uncontrollable rage. And what did you do?”
“Leave my property now.” Ewell turned the wheelchair and grabbed the door.
I placed my hand against the door to prevent her from closing it. “Did you call the paramedics? Did you call the sheriff? Did you open the window and yell at Meredith to stop? No, you tried to think of a way to turn Robert’s death into a profit and I almost gave you the opportunity when I told you that I suspected Trent of the murder. It’s got to be upsetting knowing you were that close to almost a million bucks.”
“Get off my land, you bastard. Go! Get out!”
“Gladly, because after I go and recover your precious Mourning Bear from a woman so lacking in conscience The Mournful Teddy
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that she could be your clone, I’m heading home for a long hot shower. Being in the presence of someone as loathsome as you makes me feel soiled and I only hope we have enough soap to wash your stink from me.” I released my hold on the door and was walking away when it slammed shut behind me.
Chapter 24
Pulling up in front of the Sheriff’s Office, I parked next to a pair of gray State Police cruisers that had arrived some time while we were at the Ewell estate. I also noticed a cream-colored Ford Crown Vic sedan with county government license plates and suspected it belonged to the Commonwealth’s Attorney. Tina had been busy during our absence.
We went inside the office and a deputy seated at the reception counter waved us on through, saying, “The Sheriff told me to send you right in.”
A few seconds later, we stood in the doorway, obviously interrupting an intense discussion between Tina and an unhappy looking older man. I said, “Sheriff Barron? This is Meredith Audett and she’s come in here voluntarily to tell you what happened to Robert Thayer.”
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“Mr. Emerson, this is Brad and Ashleigh Lyon, the folks I’ve been telling you about.” Tina looked up at us and continued, “Mr. Emerson is our Commonwealth’s Attorney and he’s been telling me all about the political realities of Massanutten County.”
“Which means he’s trying to get you to drop the charges to protect himself and his cronies. God Almighty, I am
so
tired of dealing with slimy characters pretending to be good citizens.” My leg was throbbing, I had a dull headache, and I didn’t realize just how cranky I was until I turned to Emerson and said, “Look, you two-bit procurer, why don’t you run home and lock yourself in a closet. That way you’ll be ready for the experience of state prison, because you and I both know that Gene Holcombe is going to implicate you and a bunch of other
‘servants of the people’ in this graft ring.”
“And although I’m not as diplomatic as Mr. Lyon, I agree with his assessment,” said Tina. “Go home, Mr.
Emerson. I’m calling the attorney general’s office in Richmond to get a real prosecutor.”
Emerson pushed past us, scowled at me, and stomped down the hall.
Tina stood up and pointed to the recently vacated chair. “Thanks for coming in, Ms. Audett. Why don’t you sit down right here? I have to talk to the Lyons for a moment and then I’ll be back.”
Once Meredith was seated, Tina came out into the hall and shut the door behind her.
“What’s wrong?” Ash asked.
“Poole’s in the wind. His clothes closet was empty and his car was gone. It must have happened while we were tied up with the Holcombes. I put out a BOL.”
“But it isn’t likely you’ll find him. He had to have been preparing for this day, so he probably has false ID and a 280
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bank account under the same alias. For that matter, he could have a cold car stashed someplace.”
“I just feel awful. If we’d moved more quickly . . .”
“You mean, and not waited for a warrant? Don’t kid yourself, Tina. He’d have posted bond and disappeared anyway. You did the best you could.”
“Well, I’m glad he’s gone. He’d spread so much ‘charity’ money around, he might have been acquitted if he’d stayed,” said Ash. “Good riddance to bad rubbish.”
“You’re probably right, sweetheart. Now, on to other business.” I nodded in the direction of the closed door.
“Meredith confessed to killing Thayer and it sounded like a pretty valid ‘heat of passion’ situation. You’ll want to get started on the interview immediately because if I’m any judge of Liz Ewell’s character, she’s going to hire Meredith a lawyer and he’s going to come here and insist on seeing his client. After that, she’ll invoke and there’ll be no further opportunity to talk to her.”
“Why would Ewell do that?”
“She still wants to pin the murder on Trent so that she can sue the county for an astronomical amount of money.”
Tina shook her head and sighed. “People. You’ve got to love them. Are you going up to get the bear now?”
“Yeah. I’d like to take a deputy along just in case Cleland voluntarily comes outside the hotel room. That way, he can make a ‘probable cause’ arrest because she’s out in public.”
“You can take Deputy Bressler. He was at the front counter when you came in.”
“Have you sworn out a warrant for Cleland’s arrest?”
“Not yet.”
“The arrest warrant will get you into her hotel room, but you’ll also need a search warrant to recover any evidence that’s not in plain sight.”
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“I know. I’ve got the state troopers working on that, but it’s going to take some time.”
“Don’t worry. Once we’re up there and the scene’s been frozen, Cleland isn’t going anywhere. Besides, it’s been almost twenty minutes since I’ve spoken with a sociopath, so I’m really looking forward to chatting with her.”
“Me too,” Ash grimly added.
“I really want to thank you two for all the help,” Tina said diffidently.
“It’s a pleasure doing it for a friend . . . and someone we know will be a good and honest sheriff,” I said.
On the way out, we paused in the lobby to brief Bressler on his new assignment. Then I grabbed a manila envelope from a stack on the counter.
“What’s that for?” Ash asked.
“Camouflage. If we show up looking like this is police business, the hotel staff won’t tell us what room she’s in, claiming it violates their privacy policy.”
“But how’s an envelope going to help?”
“You’ll see.”
Soon, we were speeding down Coggins Spring Road toward Massanutten Mountain with Bressler in his patrol car behind us. The sun had already descended below the ridgeline by the time we turned onto the cobblestone lane leading up to the Massanutten Crest Lodge. A moment later, the ersatz castle came into view. I parked the truck in a handicapped slot near the entrance and we went into the hotel while Bressler waited outside for my telephone call.
With the huge stone fireplace in the corner and the maroon banners hanging on the walls, the lobby looked like a medieval feasting hall—so long as you could overlook the huge plasma television in the corner that was currently displaying a splashy commercial for adult diapers.
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“Follow my lead,” I whispered to Ash. Then, putting an idiotic grin on my face, I marched up to the young woman behind the registration counter and said, “Hi there! We’re looking for Lorraine Cleland. Can you tell us what room she’s in?”
“And you are?”
I waved the manila envelope as if it were a winning lottery ticket and did my best to sound jolly and just slightly demented. “Why we’re the Lyons and we just want to return this contract we signed with Lorraine.
She’s going to make my wife’s teddy bears and put them in toyshops. Do you like teddy bears?”
“I suppose.”
“We love them. Our house is full of them.”
“That’s nice.”
“Sometimes I pretend to make voices for them. You know, I make them talk.”
“Oh.”
Ash tugged my shirtsleeve. “Oh honey, do one of the voices for her. She’ll love it!”
“That’s all right. Really.”
“So what room is Lorraine in? We want to drop off the paperwork and then go out and celebrate.”
I could see the clerk weighing her options. The rules probably said she should call Cleland before releasing any information, but we looked harmless, and the girl seemed genuinely worried that I might give her a sample of one of my teddy bear voices. Finally, she said, “Room one-seventeen. Down that hall and to the left.”
“Thank you, hon.”
Ash waited until we were well down the hall before starting to laugh. “Oh my God, did you see the look on her face?”
“I thought she behaved very professionally, considering The Mournful Teddy
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she thought we were nuts.” I took my wireless phone out and called Bressler. “We’re in. Room one-seventeen on the ground floor. It’ll be at the rear of the building. Let us know when you’re back there and we’ll make contact with Cleland.”
We came to the end of the corridor and turned left.
Room 117 was the third door on the right. A couple of minutes passed and then my phone rang. I answered on the first ring and heard Bressler say, “Okay, I’m in position.”
“I’ll call you back when I have some idea of what’s going to happen.” I disconnected from the call and used my cane to rap on the door.
“Who is it?” Cleland called from within.
“It’s Ashleigh and Brad Lyon.”
“Go away. I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Oh, but we want to talk to you and I’m perfectly happy yelling through the door so that your high-class neighbors can hear all about how you screwed a charity auction so that you could buy a stolen teddy bear.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Stick with that. The jury will love it.”
“Go away!”
“Lorraine, it’s in your best interest to open the door.
Sheriff Holcombe is in jail and Reverend Poole has gone into hiding, but both of them were kind enough to tell us everything about your purchase of the Mourning Bear.
Heck, we’ve even got your cashier’s check and as we speak, two state troopers are hard at work getting a warrant for your arrest.”
“What do you want?”
“We just want the bear back. Actually, that’s not true. I also want to see you led out of this five-star hotel in handcuffs and put into the back seat of a police car 284
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just like any other grubby felon, but I’ll settle for the bear.”
The door opened and Cleland glared at us. “Come in and keep your voices down.”
We went inside. Cleland was dressed in traveling clothes: khaki pants, a beige pullover shirt, and white deck shoes. An open suitcase lay upon the bed and a wooden box I was certain contained the Mourning Bear stood on the table.
“Going back to Boston?”
“Or just trying to get across the state line?” Ash added.
I perched myself on the edge of the dresser. “Lorraine, I just have to know. That damned bear represents the deaths of fifteen hundred people almost a century ago.
This weekend, it was the cause of an armed robbery, followed by a murder, and it almost got Ash and me killed less than two hours ago. The idea of having it in my house gives me the creeps, so why do you want it so badly?”
“It’s one of the rarest and most valuable stuffed animals in the world. You collect teddy bears. You ought to understand.”
Ash looked puzzled and repelled. “We collect them because we enjoy them, not because of what they might be worth. There are some things that just can’t be measured with a dollar sign, especially teddy bears.”
When Cleland realized that Ash actually meant what she said and wasn’t merely spouting empty platitudes, it was her turn to look perplexed. “That’s sweet, Ashleigh, but what planet have you been living on?”
“Yeah, what could be sillier than thinking that the purpose of life ought to be something more than seeing how much expensive crap we can accumulate?” I said.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any offense,” Cleland stumbled over the words. It was obvious she was becoming The Mournful Teddy
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frightened. “Look, were you bluffing about the state troopers?”
“Not at all. They could get here any time.”
“Can’t we come to some sort of an agreement?”
“How do you mean?”
“You let me leave with the Mourning Bear and I promise to buy the rights to Ashleigh’s teddy bears. There’s stationery here, we could write up an informal contract right now. The deal could be worth a lot of money to you in the years to come.”