[To Die For 01] - A View to Die For (2012) (29 page)

“How about something to eat? Are you hungry for a McDouble?” Now I really had his attention. He started to drool.

I made a quick U-turn and pulled into McDonald’s parking lot, and I almost hit the car in front of me because I was watching in my rearview mirrors for the SUV with Missouri plates. I saw the big SUV slow down then drive on just before I saw the car in front of me. Fred flew forward when I slammed on my breaks.

“You okay, big Fella?” I asked. He answered by wagging his tail without losing sight of the restaurant. His training to recognize the golden arches would have made Pavlov proud.

I couldn’t go through the drive-up window with the motor home, so I parked in the rear and walked back to the restaurant. Fred could guard the motor home, and I covered my back by watching the street for the SUV. He, or I suppose it could have been a she, didn’t return. I ordered four McDoubles and fries and went back to the motor home where Fred and I ate our gourmet meal. If we were being followed, it had to be the CIA using their latest stealth technology, for we never saw the big SUV again after leaving Emporia. My mind soon went on to other thoughts when I got a call from my sister.

“Hi, Porky. Are you guys home yet?”

“No. We decided to take the scenic cruise. We won’t be home for a couple of days. What’s up?” I asked.

“I got an offer on the house,” she answered. “It’s still less than I wanted, but money won’t be an issue much longer. Ira got the insurance company to come through. We’re going down to Springfield tomorrow to pick up the check.”

“We? Ira’s going with you?”

“It’s not what you think, Porky. He has some business in Branson, so he offered to go with me in case the insurance company gives me any trouble.”

“What about the offer? Are you going to take it?”

“Depends on Mom. If I can talk her into going back to Colorado. Anyway, that’s not the main reason I called.”

“Oh?” I answered. I hated it when she did this to me.

“They found the gun Nixon used to kill Bill.”

“By your dock,” I said.

“Almost exactly where you said it would be. They bought your theory that Nixon had been searching for it around my dock after dropping it when he dumped Bill’s body. Bennet even said you were pretty smart to figure out the shoes belonged to a cop. Of course, he had to add that a security guard wasn’t a real cop.”

“Bennet said that? What kind of drugs have you been taking Meg? Bennet hates my guts,” I said. “I take it they haven’t found Nixon yet?”

“Not yet. Ira thinks it’s only a matter of time before he shows up.”

* * *

Megan had her insurance check by the time Fred and I made it home. She sent me more than enough to cover all I had lent her. I was finally able to send Greg Junior the balance on what I figured I owed for the motor home and catch up all my bills. With a little luck, I could scrape by at least a year until I finished my novel or found a job. I didn’t like all the loose ends I had left back in Missouri. I didn’t know if they would ever convict Hal of selling illegal prescription drugs or if the gold coins would ever be found. I figured that would all come out when they were able to catch Nixon. He had disappeared before the warrant was issued.

Yes, life was good again and back to normal. Until déjà vu struck with another two-o’clock call from my mother. “Jacob, it’s your Mother.”

“I figured that, Mom. Who else would call me at two in the morning?”

“Don’t be so smart with me, Jacob. Your sister is in bad shape.”

“Calm down, Mom. What happened?”

“Nixon showed up at Meg’s door, demanding his coins. When she pretended she had no idea what he was talking about, he beat her and tied her up, then tore up the house looking for them. Kevin and Taylor showed up just in time before that terrible man had his way with your sister. That coward ran away when he heard Kevin’s car, but thanks to Kevin’s quick thinking, he got the license number. That’s how we know it was Nixon.”

“Where is Meg now, Mother?”

“She’s sleeping. I would have called you sooner, but it’s been so hectic with the police and all.”

“Do you need me there, Mom?”
Please say no
, I thought.

“No. She should be okay. They wanted her to see a doctor, but Amy checked her over and said it was just superficial.”

“Amy? Amy’s there?” I asked.

“She and Taylor have been staying with Meg, you know.”

“What about Hal? Is he there too?”

“No. They split up after you left. Just Amy and Taylor. And the boys can fix what that terrible man broke. All he did was knock a few holes in the walls and steal some CDs, so we don’t need you here.” She answered.

“CDs or DVDs, Mom?

“I don’t know. They’re all the same to me. What difference does it make anyway, Jacob?”

“A big difference, Mom. But just one more question. Did Nixon’s plates start with the letters AEM?”

“How did you know that, Jacob?”

“ESP, Mom.”

The phone went silent. I thought she had hung up on me, but then Megan came on the line. “I hope Mom didn’t scare you, Porky. You don’t need to come back – the bastard barely scratched me.”

“You sure? I can be there by tomorrow.”

“No. Don’t do that. Ira’s taking me to Saint Louis with him to some kind of convention. I won’t be here. You stay put and take care of Fred, or have him take care of you, as the case may be.”

“Ira?”

“I’ve got to go now, Jake. Thank you for everything. Love ya.” Then she hung up, leaving me in the dark about her new relationship with Rosenblum. There wasn’t anything I could do, but now I knew who had been following me on my trip home.

Fred had slept through the entire phone call and only woke when I hung up. He began to growl.

“What you hear out there, old Fella?” I asked as he stared at the door.

Mother’s call had me spooked, so I grabbed the twelve gauge shotgun I kept in the closet. I kept it loaded, unless Allison was visiting, but I kept the chamber empty. I quickly pumped it once to put a shell in the chamber then clicked off the safety. If someone was out there ready to break in, they would soon be hamburger.

The sound of the cocked gun must have scared off my visitor. Although Fred was barking too loud to hear clearly, someone or something had been out there; I thought I could hear it running down the gravel driveway. My first impulse was to let my ferocious guard dog loose. Then, when I saw him hiding under the coffee table, I had second thoughts. My table wasn’t glass, so he must have known he would be safe.

I turned on my flood lights and peeked out the window. No one was there. I went out the back door and circled around the house. Fred had found the courage to join me and was now by my side. We were about ready to go back inside when I happened to shine my flashlight on the motor home. The door was swinging open.

Living in the foothills of Denver has its advantages, but it also has its problems. We get more than our share of critters this far from the city lights. I’ve seen deer, elk, black bear, and raccoons. There was even a mountain lion a few years back that had attacked and killed several of a neighbor’s llamas. But I’ve never seen an animal that could open a locked motor home door.

“If you’re in there, Buddy, you better come out before I fill you full of buckshot,” I said, and waited for a response. It didn’t come.

I shut off my flashlight and quietly crept around the side of the motor home, peering in the dinette window. I couldn’t see any movement, so I took a chance and turned on the light. Still nothing. By now, my heart was racing. If there had been someone in there with a gun, I would have been dead. The motor home skin could barely stop a rock. It would have been no match for a bullet. Fred started to growl again, and I could see the hair on his back standing straight up. I shut off my light again and dropped to the ground thinking there had to be someone in there. I was expecting a shot at any moment. Instead, I heard the sound of a car start down the road, and tires spinning on the gravel.

Fred took off running after the car. He wasn’t fooling anyone. Now that the sissy knew he had no chance of catching the intruder, he thought he would show me what a great guard dog he was.

My heart slowed down to only two hundred beats per minute, and I picked myself up off the ground and went into the motor home. It had been trashed. My first thought was Nixon and how he had trashed Megan’s house looking for ‘his’ coins. But that was impossible. Even Superman could not have flown over seven hundred miles in such a short time.

Fred came back about the time I had the motor home put back together. The intruder hadn’t trashed it as bad as he could have. Maybe he didn’t have the time. All the drawers had been pulled out and one of the top cabinet doors would have to be fixed, but otherwise, it would be okay. “Come on, Boy, let’s go back to the cabin. I’ll call the sheriff in the morning.”

I didn’t call the sheriff, but I did call my mother back. “Jacob, what is so important you had to call me at five in the morning?”

“Isn’t caller ID great, Mom?” I answered. “Sorry to wake you. I thought you would still be up.”

“Well, I wasn’t. I’ve hardly had any sleep the last two days, and now you go and wake me.”

“Mom, when did Nixon break in and beat up Megan?”

“Yesterday. What does that have to do with waking me up?”

“What time yesterday?”

“Yesterday morning. Why?”

So much, I thought, for my superman theory of travel. Nixon had over twenty-four hours after leaving Meg’s.

“Thanks, Mom. You’ve been a big help. I’ll call you later and explain.” Then I hung up and called 911.

The sheriff in Colorado was too busy to send anyone out to take a report until the next day. It was late afternoon before a deputy came around.

“You need to get some plates on this thing,” he said when I showed him the motor home. “That temporary sticker expired a week ago.”

“Thanks for pointing that out, officer. I’ll take care of it tomorrow. Is there any way you can get a print from it to see who broke in?”

He laughed like I had told a real funny joke. “Not unless someone was murdered. We don’t have the time or resources to follow up on these petty crimes. About the best we can do is take a report for your insurance company.”

“I told you back in the cabin, I think I know the guy who did this, and he is wanted for murder.”

“I’ll tell my sergeant. But I don’t see how he could get all the way from Missouri in only a day. Not if he’s driving. And he couldn’t fly if there is an all points out for him back there, as you say.”

“It’s only a twelve hour drive, Officer, less if he speeds,” I said

“Sorry, but with all the budget cutbacks, we just don’t have the resources. Is that your dog?” he asked.

“Yeah. I think he scared the guy off before he could do more damage.”

“Better get a license for him and keep him in the yard. We don’t allow unlicensed pets in the county anymore.” The deputy went over to pet Fred, then stopped when Fred’s ears went back and his back hair turned to porcupine quills. “Does he bite?”

“No. It must be the uniform.” I replied.

The deputy got back in his Jeep and started his motor. “I’ll give this report to my sergeant and ask him to see what he can find out about this Ron Nixon. Maybe, we can beef up our patrols in the area if we think he’s headed this way. But if I was you, I think I’d get back in my motor home and go somewhere.”

I thought my imitation of a detective had ended in Missouri. Now it looked like I was back in business. It was obvious the local law wasn’t interested in my problem anymore than the police in Truman had been interested in looking for my mother’s burglar. Of course, there was no mystery here. It had to be Nixon looking for those damn coins. There was no doubt I was in grave danger and the only protection I had from a guy who had killed at least twice was a shotgun and a dog that would run for the nearest coffee table at the first sign of a threat. Then I came to my senses; I decided to take the deputy’s advice. Fred and I were long overdue for a father and son fishing trip.

Summer is short lived in the Colorado high country, and Fred and I hadn’t caught a single brown trout all year. We needed to get into the mountains and catch our share before it was too late. It was the middle of July, and snow would be falling up there before we knew it. My plan was to take the motor home and camp at one of the State or National campgrounds, then backpack into the wilderness. Nixon, if he was dumb enough to follow us, would be ill prepared for the fickle weather above ten thousand feet. But as the deputy had warned, I would need to get the plates on my motor home before I went anywhere. Our escape to the high country would have to wait another day. It was too late to drive into town for the plates.

Fred and I were sitting on our deck with our beer, trying to decide if we should stay the night or get in the motor home and head for a campground closer to town. Actually, I’m not sure how much Fred thought about having his throat slit in the middle of the night. He was more interested in biting the bubbles from the beer I poured on the deck. I had just opened another beer when my cell rang.

“Where have you been, Porky? I’ve been trying all day to get you.”

“I’m surprised you got me now. How come you didn’t call the house phone? You know I hardly get a signal up here on my cell.” I answered.

“I did. It’s out of order. Didn’t you pay the bill?”

“Must be the squirrels again. They’re always eating through the wires, but enough about my phone. How are you doing? I thought you were going to Saint Louis with Ira?”

“Tomorrow, that’s why I called. I wanted you to know before I left, Bennet got a call from your sheriff and said you had been vandalized.”

“I’ll be. He did follow up on my report.”

“Bennet told him about Nixon and …” The cell phone cut off before she could finish.

I tried calling Megan back, but I couldn’t get a signal. It was getting dark, or I would have walked up the hill and tried again. That seemed to work sometimes, but it too was hit and miss.

“Guess I’ll have to get off my butt, Fred, and see what’s wrong with the house phone,” I said and gave him the rest of my beer.