The Price of Beauty in Strawberry Land (25 page)

Nickie sensed the excitement and walked over. “Okay, fellows.
 
Somebody want to let me in on what this is all about?”

“Nickie, Ted’s tab is on me for the rest of this year – he’s earned it,” I said patting him on the back.

“Yea?
 
What did he do?” Now she was curious.

“Don’t worry about it – just make sure I get the bill.”

Ted and I talked for another hour about everything.
 
He told war stories, I told detective stories, and Nickie brought drinks and just kept shaking her head.

As Ted was leaving I saw Leroy’s cruiser pull into the parking lot.
 
I thanked Ted again and told him I would catch up with him soon.
 
He was a very nice guy.

Leroy took Ted’s stool and ordered coffee.
 
I ordered another jack/coke.
 
Leroy said nothing.

“Leroy, when you aren’t talking it tells me you have a lot to say.
 
So let’s hear it.”

“Travis said Charlotte always carried a baseball bat in her car.
 
He said, in fact, he is the one who gave her the bat and suggested she keep it in the car for protection.”

“Okay, sheriff, what does that tell you?” I nodded.

“I’m not sure. It either tells me he’s innocent or the bat had nothing to do with the murder – I guess.”

“Did you ever pick up Billy Vickers?”

“Sure did – or rather the State Police did.
 
I’m not sure where they found him, but they delivered him to my jail about a half hour ago.”

“Leroy, I want you to go get on your radio – call the office and have Jeff or Scotty ask Billy a question.
 
Can you do that?”

“Have them tell him that they know he was in Charlotte’s car the night she disappeared.
 
And then have them ask him if the baseball bat was in the car when he was with Charlotte. He may be surprised by the question or he may not – we need to know his reaction – but dependent upon how he answers, I think we may have this mystery solved.”

“You’re shitting me – right,” Leroy frowned.

“No.
 
Just go make the call.
 
We’ll discuss when you get an answer.”

 
Leroy made the radio call and then waited in his cruiser for the response.
 
I had another Jack Daniel’s and coke.

He was talking when he walked back in the bar, “According to Billy Vickers, the baseball bat was in her car – just where it always was.
 
Jeff said his reaction was passive – he didn’t seem surprised or shocked by the question.
 
Now tell me – what the hell does that prove?”

“Leroy, I have a few pieces that are not yet
 
in place – but I think if I can get everybody together, we can add those few missing pieces and all go home and sleep good tomorrow night. Can we do that?”

“Who is everybody?”

“You already have Mickey, Travis, Billy Vickers and Brad Knuchols in your jail – correct?”

“Correct.”

“I need Denny Smith, James Gannon, Phillip Chaney, and Ted Blaylock to join the meeting. Ted will volunteer, I’ve already briefed him.
 
The others you will need to drag in – use your imagination and office power.
 
Can you handle that?” I asked.

“What about the FBI?
 
Agent Giltner?” he asked.

“Okay, bring him along too – good idea.”

“What time tomorrow do you want to have this ‘gathering’?”

“Not early – let’s do 11:00 AM, I need my beauty sleep.”

“What would you suggest I tell these people the meeting is about – Mr. Detective.
 
I can’t just drag people in for no reason?”

“I don’t care – Mr. Sheriff.
 
We are trying to solve a murder and these people are involved – just tell them routine questioning. They won’t know it’s a gathering until they get there – correct?”

“Guess I need to start looking for another job – I’ll never get re-elected,” Leroy was shaking his head.

“Just trust me friend.
 
Set it up and I’ll see you at your office tomorrow at 11.”

He left still shaking his head.
 
Leroy was my friend, I would never do anything to make him look bad – and underneath that tough shell, he knew that.

Solution

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A
s Leroy and I had discussed, all parties were assembled in the downstairs conference room of the Gibson County Sheriff’s office. Some wore county provided clothing and handcuffs – some did not.
 
This was my show – I had better make it work.

Along with our cast of characters were sheriff Epsee, deputies Jeff Cole, Scotty Perry and FBI agent Giltner.
 
The room was full.

“I’ll skip introductions and formality,” I started. “You know who I am and I know most of you.
 
You are here because we believe each of you have some knowledge and/or involvement in the disappearance and untimely death of Charlotte Luckey.
 
We are together going to discuss that this morning.
 
Here are the rules - I talk and you listen.
 
Please answer when I ask you a question.”

Immediately James Gannon stood up. “I have no knowledge or involvement in the death of Charlotte Luckey and resent being here.
 
I’m leaving,” he said stepping toward the door.

“No, Coach Gannon you are not leaving,” I answered frankly. “These deputies will make sure you don’t. Whether you did or you didn’t have any knowledge or involvement will soon come out.
 
But if it will make you feel any better, you can consider you’re here because you are an asshole. Now, unless you want one of those orange suits and handcuffs, please sit down and shut up. OK?”

He sat down.

“Okay, Travis Luckey, let’s start with you,” I began. “You were the goat in this whole scheme.
 
You owed the mob and Mickey Campbell a lot of money – we don’t know how much.
 
Mickey might tell us later, but I doubt it.
 

To repay this debt, you, Mickey and Denny come up with a plan to fake your daughter’s kidnapping and ransom $50K from Phillip Chaney. Travis, I’m not sure what low part of the earth you come from, but that is just about as low as you can get.
 

Anyway, with the ransom money, Mickey gets paid what he is owed and you, Travis, would get some money to continue your life – at least that is what you thought the plan was.
 
You somehow drag Charlotte into the deal and she agrees, because she loves you – her no good father.
 
The plan is for you and Charlotte to disappear after the Maxwell party – Mickey, or one of his thugs would collect the ransom and everybody lives happily ever after.
 
 
Your meeting with Mickey at the Country Club was to confirm the arrangement and set the plan in motion. Only something goes wrong.
 

Your plan was to meet Charlotte at Bailey Park and then disappear. But when you get to the park, she isn’t there – just her car.
 
You got scared and ran.
 
The next morning you call Mickey, but he claims he doesn’t know where Charlotte is either.
 
He offers to put you up at his warehouse in Jackson, which is where you stayed until putting the gun in my ear at the drive-in movie.
 
We know where you were because our Mr. Gannon threw you out of his club on Saturday night and the cab driver took you to Mickey’s warehouse.
 
We also know the ransom delivery call on Tuesday was made from a pay phone just around the corner from that warehouse.
 
Mickey threatened you and forced you to make the ransom call – they needed that in order to complete their plan.
 
However, Charlotte was still missing and you figured you would be next.
 
So you stole her car, hassled me at the drive-in and ultimately ended up here in Leroy’s jail charged with your daughter’s murder.
 
Did I miss anything?”

Travis said nothing - he just stared at the floor.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Now to you, Phillip Chaney.
 
You’re being blackmailed – not by just anybody, but your own half brother.
 
Blackmailed to protect your father.
 
Your half brother, Denny Smith, had threatened to kill your father if you didn’t cooperate.
 
You’re paying the blackmail in small sums – $10 thousand here, $20 thousand there – but eventually your father got suspicious and wanted to know where all the money was going.
 
That’s when you started supplementing the blackmail by making drug runs to Mexico – bringing drugs back for your brother’s use and, most likely, his sale for additional cash.

Then one day the stakes get higher – probably because of money Denny owed to Mickey and his crowd.
 
We don’t know that for sure, but maybe he’ll also tell us about that later.
 
Regardless, the small sums weren’t enough and Denny wanted more – so here comes the kidnapping plot.
 
You bought into the scheme from the beginning – maybe believing you had no choice.
 
Then somebody has the bright idea to involve me - believing I would add some legitimacy to the madness – thinking of me as another goat, like Travis.
 
You didn’t intend on the police getting involved, but it really wouldn’t matter.
 
If the police were watching the drop, Mickey would just send Travis to get arrested.
 
Either way, you eventually hand the money over to Denny.
 
Charlotte shows up, Mickey forgives debts and everybody walks away happier and much richer – except Travis, of course.

So to complete the plot you, Phillip, type a ransom note and pretend some mysterious and unknown person delivered it.
 
How long did it take to come up with that stupid plan?”

Phillip just stared at me, not showing any sign of emotion.

“And now it’s your turn Mickey. Your meeting at the Humboldt County Club was just to reassure Travis that everything was going as planned and that he and Charlotte should disappear after the party. You would collect the ransom for Travis, he would be off the hook, and life could move forward.
 
Only that wasn’t the plan at all.
 
He thought the ransom was for $50 thousand, not $200 thousand.
 
And he certainly didn’t know that if the police got involved, he would be sacrificed by picking up the money.
 
Either way, your plan was to keep the $200K, stiff Travis for his share and continue to keep him on your books.
 
I’m only assuming - but you probably would have let Denny off the hook for his debts – or maybe not. I do know this whole mess started with Denny’s plan and he was involved all the way. I saw him talking to you and Brad that night at the club – so he knew exactly what was going down.”

Mickey was giving me one of those ‘I could kill you’ looks, but he didn’t speak.

“And finally to you Denny. You weren’t included in the Forrest Chaney inheritance – that pissed you off and you wanted to get even.
 
It didn’t matter that Forrest had tried to do right by you. He bought you a house and even offered you a job – but you wanted the easy money. Your solution was to blackmail your brother by threatening to kill your father. It started slow - $5 thousand here, $10 thousand there - but when Phillip couldn’t hide it any more – you needed another plan. You somehow get linked up with Mickey, probably trying to peddle your drugs.
 
You rent this house on Sandersbluff road and then somewhere this elaborate scheme emerges to fake a kidnapping and extort $200 grand from the old man in one single trick.