“We already know that,” I lied. “We’d be mildly interested in hearing your version of the story, of course. But whether you talk or not, you aren’t getting any more rum. That’s the deal, take it or leave it.”
Twenty-five
Roger sagged against one of the chair’s armrests. “I’ll take it.”
“Wise choice. And just to make sure that old demon rum doesn’t tempt you any more, I’m going to ask my wife to pour the rest of it down the sink.”
“My pleasure.” Ash gave the real estate agent a disgusted look as she grabbed the bottle and headed for the bathroom.
“A few minutes ago, you told us that you weren’t at Mr. Rawlins’s place Thursday night, so how could you possibly know who was?” Tina did a fine job of sounding as if she already knew the answer and couldn’t care less what Roger had to say.
“Oh now, Sheriff, everybody in town knows that Miss Ashleigh chased a Saab from Ev’s place on Thursday night. Now, that’s the same kind of car that Ms. Driggs drives.”
“We’ve known that for days,” said Ash as she came back into the room.
“But you don’t know
why
Driggs was there,” Roger said in an almost childish smug tone.
I leaned over and fixed him with a hard stare. “Roger, would you please get to the point before I regret not allowing you to overdose?”
The agent looked a little miffed. “Okay, remember I said that I had to print out all that new paperwork? Well, I thought I should call up Ev and tell him that we’d be a little later at his house than we’d planned.”
“And what did he say?”
“He said he was sorry and told me that he’d been reconsidering and had changed his mind. He didn’t want to sell his farm.”
“What did you say?”
“I asked him why. Asked him if it was a problem of not enough money.”
“Was it?”
“No. He said that it had been his family’s land for over two hundred years and that it just felt wrong to turn it into an amusement park.”
Tina said, “There went your big commission right down the drain. That must have been upsetting for you.”
“I was disappointed. Very disappointed.”
“And scared about having to break the bad news to Ms. Driggs, I’ll bet,” I said.
Roger nodded. “I called Her Majesty and she about had a meltdown. She cursed so hard and so long I thought she was having a crazy fit.”
“What did you do?”
“When she finally stopped calling everyone and everything a motherf—” He glanced up at Ash and caught himself in time. “Sorry. Well, I was still trying to salvage the deal, so I asked Ms. Gutter Mouth if she’d consider upping the offer price.”
“Even though Everett made it clear that it wasn’t a matter of how much money was being offered?” Ash asked.
“Lots of people tell me things like that, Miss Ashleigh. But it
always
boils down to folks wanting more money.” Roger looked away from my wife.
I said, “So you didn’t really honor his decision. You just figured there was no point in talking any further until you could put more money on the table.”
“That’s about the size of it,” said Roger. “Anyway, Driggs told me to up the offer to seven million dollars even for the land, but that was as high as she would go.”
“Did you call Mr. Rawlins back with the new offer?” I asked. Off in the distance I heard a siren begin to wail and knew it was the rescue squad on their way to the motel. We were running out of time.
“No. I just printed out a fresh stack of paperwork with the new sales figure and decided to go over and see Ev in person.”
“And what time was that?”
“I got there around three-thirty, but it was a waste of time. Ev told me that his mind was made up. He wasn’t going to sell, no matter what the price.” Roger shook his head in disbelief. “Seven million dollars and he turned it down.”
“Where is that paperwork now?” Ash asked.
Roger said, “I left it on his kitchen counter. I thought maybe he might look at all those zeroes after that seven and change his mind . . . and I was right.”
The siren was growing very close now, and I could hear the rumble of the diesel engine as the ambulance came up the low hill. A moment later, the siren stopped and the ambulance turned into the motel parking lot. We had perhaps a minute left to get all the answers we so desperately needed.
“How do you know that?” Tina demanded. “Did you go back out there that night?”
Roger shook his head vigorously. “No. I didn’t hear anything from anyone that night, so I assumed the deal was dead. I went home.”
I said, “But clearly, at some point, you learned the deal wasn’t dead.”
“That’s true. Just before I met with you two at the house yesterday, I got a call from Driggs’s assistant, Jason . . . Jesse . . . Jason, whatever.” Roger waved his hand listlessly. “He started crowing about how he’d gone out to Ev’s place on Thursday afternoon and convinced him to sell his farm.”
“Why would Mr. Hauck be calling you? Had you ever spoken with him before?”
“No, so I asked to talk to Driggs. But he told me that from now on I’d be dealing with him. And you know what?”
“What?” I asked.
“He was just as big a jerk as she was!”
“Forgive me if I don’t react with shock. But something puzzles me, Roger. Everyone around here—including Jesse Hauck and Sherri Driggs, for that matter—knew that Ev Rawlins had been killed early on Thursday evening.”
“So?”
“So . . . didn’t you wonder about Mr. Hauck admitting to having been at the house so close to the time of the murder?”
Roger shrugged. “Hey, I’m not a detective.”
Before I could respond, Ash jumped in. “Oh, now, Brad, I can understand why good ol’ Roger didn’t give it any thought. He was too busy getting ready to burn down a hundred-year-old Victorian mansion.”
The real estate agent tried to look both remorseful and dignified. “I’m not proud of what I did. But you can’t stop progress, Miss Ashleigh. That theme park was coming, no matter who handled the transaction. So
somebody
was going to get that money. Why not me?” Roger said defensively.
“You call traffic, litter, and urban sprawl
progress
? And God only knows how many real bears would be killed to make room for your trashy Bear Fair.” Ash’s hands balled up into fists, and I thought she might take a swing at the agent. “Roger Prufrock, you are a mealymouthed, nickel-plated scumbag, and I hope those burns you have are just a preview of the place you’re going someday.”
The ambulance stopped outside the room, the truck doors slammed, and the EMTs came in, carrying their medical gear. We went outside as the medics worked. It was twilight now, and a chilly breeze blew down from the Allegheny Mountains. I zipped up my jacket and leaned on the hood of the Beemer.
Stifling a yawn, I said, “So Jesse is apparently running the show now. What does that tell us?”
“That he knows Driggs killed Rawlins,” said Tina.
I nodded. “And he’s blackmailing his boss. She keeps her freedom by boosting her former boy toy up the corporate ladder.”
“But I don’t understand. If Everett signed the documents, why kill him?” Ash asked.
“We only have Jesse’s word, via Roger, that Ev actually did sign the documents. Has anybody seen those escrow papers?” I asked. “When a house is sold, there are multiple copies of the transaction documents. One bunch for the buyer, one bunch for the real estate agent—”
Ash cut in excitedly, “And one for the seller. But we didn’t find any escrow paperwork in Ev’s house.”
“We didn’t really look. So we’re going to have to go through that mountain of paperwork we recovered from his office to make sure they aren’t there before we talk to Sherri,” I said.
The EMTs led Roger from the room and out to the ambulance. It seemed the alcohol and opiates he’d been taking for the pain were wearing off. Roger moaned as he climbed into the back of the ambulance.
Tina said, “I guess I should go over and tell him he’s under arrest for arson.”
“I’d get his car keys before they go.” I rapped my knuckles on the hood of the BMW. “But I can’t see any point in arresting him right this minute.”
“Maybe I’m missing something. Didn’t he confess to the arson?”
“Yeah, but Roger isn’t going anywhere, and if you take him into custody now, you’ll just saddle the county with his medical bills. So why not wait until he’s out of the hospital and then file charges on him? There’s just something obscene about the idea of our tax dollars being spent on his medical treatment.” I nodded toward the ambulance, where Roger was now being strapped to a gurney.
Tina gave me a weary smile and went to get Roger’s car keys before the EMTs took off. She called a tow truck for the Beemer and made sure the tow operator knew how to get to the state crime lab in Roanoke, and then we were free to head back to Remmelkemp Mill.
A half hour later, we sat in Tina’s office eating spicy Thai takeout for dinner and starting in on the mass of paperwork collected from Rawlins’s den. We each took a thick stack of papers and discovered we had a long night ahead of us. The documents weren’t in any particular order, which meant we had to examine each individual sheet.
Despite the good food, or maybe because of it, I could feel myself becoming sleepy and my vision began to blur, so I went down the hall to make some more coffee. The last thing I wanted was another cup of mud, but I wasn’t going to be able to stay awake unless I got some caffeine into my system. Thank God for legal stimulants.
When I came back to the office, Tina was on the phone, and I saw that Ash had temporarily abandoned her search of the paperwork and was instead watching her intently. Clearly, the sheriff was in the process of receiving important news.
“Don’t touch anything else. We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Tina commanded before hanging up. Turning to us she said, “It looks like our paper chase is going to have to wait for now. That was the EMT from our rescue squad. They’re up at the Massanutten Crest Lodge. Jesse Hauck is dead.”
Twenty-six
“Apparently, he fell from his balcony into the middle of a wedding reception,” said Tina, as she stood up and grabbed her uniform jacket from the back of her chair.
“Talk about dropping in unannounced,” I said. “And if Jesse
was
blackmailing Sherri, how convenient for her that he’s dead.”
“Didn’t you say they were staying on the third floor?” Ash sounded doubtful. “That isn’t
that
far a fall.”
“He fell way more than three floors,” said Tina. “That side of the hotel is built on the edge of like a forty- or fifty-foot cliff. There’s a big château at the bottom that the hotel rents out for special events.”
“Like weddings or . . .
fall
festivals. Did the—” My cell phone rang and I glanced at the screen.
It was Linny, and the security director’s tone was grim. He seemed to be making an effort not to be overheard. “Brad, we need you and the sheriff to come to the lodge right away.”
“I know. The rescue squad already called to tell us that Jesse Hauck is dead.”
“That’s right, and he fell from Ms. Driggs’s balcony. I’m up in the room right now. She says that she was in the bathtub when it happened, but I’m suspicious.”
“Good work, but don’t ask her anything else, Linny. We’re on our way.” I hung up and said to the women, “Let me grab a Coke on the way out the door, and then we need to get up to the lodge, Code Three. Linny is in the room right now and on the verge of going Inspector Clouseau on us.”
“Oh Lord,” said Tina. “Let’s go.”
A couple of minutes later, we were speeding through the darkness in Tina’s patrol car, headed for the lodge. Meanwhile, I was trying to get the caffeine into my system as fast as possible. I chugalugged the Coke so quickly that I gave myself a painful dose of temporary brain freeze.
“Brad, we need to get someone up to Ms. Driggs’s room ASAP, so why don’t I drop you off at the main entrance and then you can head up while Ash and I go down the hill to where the body is,” Tina said. “I’m going to have my hands full trying to control that madhouse down there, and we potentially have two separate crime scenes.”
“Good idea,” I said.
Tina added, “And while Brad talks to Ms. Driggs, I’m going to need you to process the body, Ash.”
“But I’ve never handled a scene by myself,” said Ash.
“I know, but I think you’re ready,” said Tina.
“I agree,” I said. “You’re observant, you’ve got good instincts, and—”
“And I had a good teacher,” Ash interrupted. “Okay, I’ll do my best.”
“Of course you will, and don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions,” I said. “And be prepared. Jesse is probably going to be a mess.” I felt guilty that my wife was going to handle the undoubtedly gory scene while I chatted with Sherri up in the luxurious hotel suite.
“I can handle it.”
“I know you can. I just don’t want you to be caught off guard,” I replied.
We rounded a bend in the highway, and the lodge lay just ahead. As always, I thought the place looked even sillier by night. Bathed in the glow of pink spotlights, the faux fairy-tale castle reminded me of the My Little Pony toy palace our daughter had played with as a young girl. When the patrol car skidded to a stop in front of the main entrance, I got out of the car, limped inside the hotel, and rode the elevator to the third floor. Linny was waiting for me in the corridor outside Room 331. The door was open, and I peeked inside the room. Sherri Driggs was sitting at the dining nook table. She wore a stunned expression and the same silk kimono I’d seen her in yesterday. She didn’t seem to be aware that I was present. But that might have been a subterfuge.
Linny pulled me aside and said in a hushed voice, “Thanks for getting here so quickly. She’s kind of falling apart.”
“That’s always useful when you know the cops are going to want to ask uncomfortable questions,” I whispered in reply. “What’s her story?”
“Just that she was taking a bath while Mr. Hauck was out on the balcony having a martini and a cigar.”