Bill Hopkins - Judge Rosswell Carew 02 - River Mourn (26 page)

“Let’s take a gander
at
the cave where you found the dead woman.” Jim Bill picked up a couple
of toothpicks on the way out of Mabel’s. “We’d better take your…uh…car. I don’t
want anyone noticing an undercover cop car.”

Jim Bill drove Rosswell to the mechanic’s shop where, inexplicably,
the Kia had been fixed and was ready at the time the grease monkey had
promised. A fully decorated Christmas tree standing in the reception area led Rosswell
to worry about the man’s concept of time. Sofia
shouldn’t
break down again
anytime soon since the work was guaranteed. On the other hand, the phrase “tempting
fate” came to mind. The towing and repairs hit his overburdened credit card to
the tune of $600.00.

The overdraft problem had been resolved with a call to
the bank president to transfer funds from Rosswell’s money market account, supported
by a claim that he was in the midst of a jury trial and couldn’t do it in
person. The bank president approved the transfer, subtly suggesting that he and
she should discuss “certain options after hours one of these days.” Rosswell assured
her that he would keep it under consideration, although he silently hoped the newly
widowed woman hadn’t assumed that he’d given up looking for Tina.

Parking at a site where they could view the cave, Jim
Bill said he’d picked a spot far enough away that Nathaniel wouldn’t notice
them in Sofia.
“No one can see us here. And we can see them clearly.”

“Don’t count on it. Try my binoculars.” He handed them
to Jim Bill.

“You always carry binoculars?”

“And a camera.” Rosswell reached in back, fetched the
camera, and showed it to Jim Bill. “It’s a beauty.”

Jim Bill pinched his nose shut for emphasis. “This car
stinks.”

“I needed a car in a hurry. It was the only thing
available.”

“I agree that the car stinks as a car, but I mean it
literally stinks.”

“Oh. Right.” Rosswell found the wrapped rodent corpse—after
spending time in the hot car it felt mushier now—and threw it in the road
ditch. “Don’t arrest me for littering. It’s all biodegradable.”

“What was that?”

“A dead mouse.”

Jim Bill, the veteran of many awful smells, appeared
to fight back a smile. “You’ll tell me the story of the deceased varmint
wrapped in the front page of the Saint Louis
Post-Dispatch
?
”

“One of these days.”

Rosswell remained silent, listening to the tick of
Sofia’s cooling engine, wondering if she’d ever run again. Sure, she’d started
once. But twice? Or more? All Rosswell could do was hope.

Jim Bill stuck the binoculars to his eyes and, for a
long time, said nothing. After scanning the surrounding area time and time
again, he lowered the glasses.  

“Can you get to that cave by going through Nathaniel’s
house?”

“I don’t know for sure because I didn’t have enough
time to explore it fully.” Rosswell and Jim Bill then discussed in exhaustive
detail the near fatal capture of Rosswell and Ollie in the cave.

After ostensibly considering all the details of the
discussion, Jim Bill flicked a couple of pieces of tobacco from his bushy
mustache before he continued. “The passageway from Jill’s house goes up the
hill into Nathaniel’s house. Is that correct?”

Rosswell thought again that Jim Bill was a good cop. The
fire marshal made sure he told the story consistently.

“I’ve been able to document only two tunnels going
from one house to another in the whole county. Karyn and Jill each have a
tunnel that connects to Nathaniel’s house. When I explored Jill’s tunnel, it
rose up into a passageway in Nathaniel’s house where I saw the delivery room I
told you about.”

“Tell me again what Maman Fribeau said to you.”

“ ‘Cave of one eye have much treasure. Cave of blind
eye, she holds a treasure but not what you seek.’ ”

“Where you found Ribs was the cave of blind eye?”

“That’s what it looked like to me.”

“How did Maman know about the caves?”

“It’s pure speculation on my part, but I’ve been
thinking about it. She’s an old woman who lives on the river and pays attention
to everything she sees and everything she hears. Her brother Lazar circulates
around the county like a bumblebee on speed and hears rumors he can report to
Maman. And, of course, the sheriff, his daughter Susannah, and son-in-law Frankie
Joe Acorn are also part of Maman’s network.”

“Gustave Fribeau is dirty for sure?”

“I can’t tell you. All I know for sure is he’s stupid.”

“Judge, getting back to Maman, that’s where I’m a bit
confused. A treasure is something valuable in terms of money. How was Ribs’s
body worth anything of value?”

“Ah, but wait. There’s more. There’s another
definition of treasure. It can be a discovery of great importance. I’m thinking
that the discovery of Ribs told me two things. First, that he was definitely
hooked up to Nathaniel Dahlbert and, second, that Nathaniel intended for me to
find the body, which means that Nathaniel and Maman Fribeau could be connected
some way. That would be through Sheriff Gustave Fribeau, her nephew. Or
great-nephew. Who knows? Maman could be Gustave’s mother. No one seems to know
for sure exactly how the old lady is related to the sheriff. But they’re
closely related. Maman Fribeau is news central around here.”

Jim Bill fitted the glasses to his eyes and focused. “That’s
definitely a cave of one eye.”

“There wasn’t any treasure. All we found was the dead woman.
I’m sure the woman was the one I saw tossed off the boat. When Ollie was in the
alley with Charlie Heckle, he told Ollie that he and Ribs Freshwater found the corpse
on the riverbank and carried her up to the cave. They were lying. She wasn’t
dead when she went in the water. She wasn’t dead when she came out of the
water. When we found her, she hadn’t been dead very long.”

“What about the snake? Was it poisonous?”

“Yes, but I don’t think even Nathaniel can make a
guided snake.”

“Tell me exactly what the dead woman in the cave
looked like.”

“She looked dead.”

“Besides that.”

Rosswell punched buttons on his phone. “I just emailed
you pictures of her.”

“Thanks. But I want you to tell me what you saw.”

The memory of her appearance lodged in Rosswell’s
brain, tucked in a side alley that would keep the thought from ever being lost.
“Tall. Slender. Strawberry blonde hair. I already told you that her appearance
was similar to Tina and Alessandra. Nathaniel or somebody had laid her out
almost in a funeral home pose. She wore a hospital gown with—”

“Stop.”

Rosswell kept his mouth shut.

Jim Bill never brought the binoculars down from his
eyes. “When Charlie Heckle said that he and Ribs carried the woman to the cave,
he was lying to Ollie?”

“Yes, I said that. I figured it out right quick. I can’t
understand why Charlie lied about it. Anyway, they carried her to Nathaniel’s
house.”

“Someone’s trying to distract you. That someone is
Nathaniel. He wanted you in the cave of one eye so he could kill you. But, as
you say, why?”

Rosswell’s rapidly beating heart pumped a rush of
blood to his head that blinded him when the answer exploded in his brain. “The
treasure in that cave wasn’t the dead woman. The treasure in that cave is
Tina
.” Rosswell felt
himself hurtling toward panic mode.
Center!
You’re close to Tina now. I hope and pray I’m close to her. Center.
“I
need to tell you I have a gun.” His vision returned.

Jim Bill reached behind Rosswell’s back and patted the
holster. “You may as well be wearing a sandwich board that says I’M ARMED.”

“Then let’s go get Tina. Right now!” Rosswell started
to step out of Sofia.

Jim Bill grabbed Rosswell’s arm. “We don’t know she’s
in there. We have to know she’s in there before we rescue her.”

“Let’s go now!”

Jim Bill tugged Rosswell back into the car. “Close the
door.” Rosswell did so. “Judge, when you were in that cave, why didn’t you wait
there till the cops came or do something besides run away?”

“I didn’t know Tina was there.”

“I already know that. Now tell me why you and Ollie
ran off.”

“We heard someone coming.”

“Where did those sounds you heard come from?”

“It sounded like it was from the back of the cave.”
Rosswell bowed his head and shook his hands. They’d gone numb and he needed
blood circulating. “That means that what I suspected all along is true. There
has to be an entrance to the house in that cave. I got into Nathaniel’s house
through a tunnel from Jill’s house, but to get to that cave, all Nathaniel has
to do is open a door somewhere in his house.”

Jim Bill reached over to pull the necklace Maman
Fribeau had bestowed on to Rosswell. “You’ve met Dina.”

Rosswell knitted his brows. “That’s what Maman called
Tina.”

“She wasn’t talking about Tina. Dina’s the woman who
was kidnapped and raped. She was the daughter of Leah and Jacob in Genesis.
Dina’s brothers killed the bad guys.”

“Jewish folktales.”

“Maybe. Yet there’s a kernel of eternal truth in it.
Cruel men subjugate weaker men and vulnerable women. Sometimes evil women join
with cruel men.” He withdrew a necklace similar to Rosswell’s from under his
shirt. “We want to free the victims and keep them free. Or, I should say, they
must stop thinking of themselves as victims so they can keep themselves free.”

“Noble sentiments.” The idea of a secret organization
dedicated to freeing slaves sounded wonderful but impractical. “And what is it
exactly that you do?”

“You’ll learn more later. For now, you’ve given me an
idea. There’s one more piece of information I need to know to either prove or
disprove that Tina is somewhere in Nathaniel’s house.”

“One more thing?”

“One more piece will solve the puzzle.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t want to tell you right now. Trust me, Judge
Carew.”

Rosswell’s breathing slowed because he’d commanded it
to slow. Knowing that Tina might possibly be within reach only made it harder
to wait. “You’re ordering me not to do anything until you figure out something?
I’ll try to control myself.”

“One more piece of info. One more. Remember that
Nathaniel wants Tina alive or she’d already be dead.”

“I don’t care what Nathaniel wants. I want Tina!”

“Judge, we do not know that she’s in that house. Think
about it. If we blasted in there right now and Tina is not there, then whoever
has her will keep moving her around and you’ll never find her. That’s the way
those bastards work.”

“Where are you going to get this info?”

“Tonight when we eat one of those wonderful suppers
you’ve been telling me about, I’ll get it from Alessandra. With your help.”

“What should I do?”

Jim Bill told him.

“You go outside to
chew
the weeds,” Mrs. Bolzoni commanded Jim Bill after he’d finished
supper and reached for his tobacco pouch. She blessed him with two forefingers
pointed at his eyes. “No spit on my flowers. Or I cut you like I’d cut a frog.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Or the sidewalk. I keep a clean house in The Four of
the Bees, as the frogs call this place.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Rosswell whispered, “You’re learning quickly.”

Jim Bill held his hands out to Alessandra and Rosswell.
“Care to join me outside? I promise not to make you chew.”

Settled on the front porch, Jim Bill jumped straight
to the point. “Alessandra, do you want to help us find Tina?”

Rosswell added, “You and she bear a remarkable
resemblance.”

Crickets chirped, sounding exhausted from the heat
wave. A rabbit hopping across the lawn stopped to give the trio a stare. Not
finding anything threatening, it wiggled its nose and nibbled at Mrs. Bolzoni’s
flowers. The lower the sun sank in the sky, the more bats began swooping
through the air, munching on every flying critter they could find.

Alessandra huffed. “Certainly.” Decked out in a pink
peasant dress, low-cut and short, Rosswell calculated that the crinkly cotton
covered her with twice as much fabric as her breakfast outfit. “I already told
Rosswell that.” She winked at Jim Bill.

Rosswell decided to be helpful. “What do you want her
to do?”

Jim Bill bounded from the porch, sprinted until he
reached the street where he spit, then walked back. Three rabbits hightailed it
for safer territory. “I want her—and you, Rosswell—to go with me to Mrs.
Bolzoni’s parlor.”

Rosswell switched on the bright chandelier and locked the
parlor door when all three of them were inside.

After they had situated themselves on the long couch,
Jim Bill began. “Alessandra, do I have your permission to ask you some personal
questions?”

“I don’t know.” Alessandra, sitting between the men,
rubbed her hands together, as if she were Lady MacBeth trying to rid herself of
a damned spot. “What about?”

Jim Bill ran his fingers through his thinning hair. “I’m
trying to find Tina. Rosswell’s had a lot of personal problems. And I hear you’ve
had a lot of personal problems.”

“That’s true.”

“I want to ask you about those problems.”

Rosswell tried to comfort Alessandra. “We don’t want
to embarrass you. Jim Bill thinks you might have some information. If you don’t
have the info, then nothing’s lost. I assure you that neither of us will ever repeat
anything we hear from you in this room.”

“You may have information you don’t know you have.”

Alessandra commenced her hair straightening routine,
the one that reminded Rosswell of Tina. “You know I’ll do what I can to help
you find Tina.”

Jim Bill opened his tobacco pouch, stared inside, then
closed it without dipping any chew. “Did you ever see Tina at Nathaniel’s
mansion?”

“Never.”

“Or anyone who looked like her?”

“No. Except for me.”

“Did you hear anyone say that Tina was there?”

“No.”

“Did anyone give you any kind of indication at all
that Tina was there?”

“No.”

Rosswell worried that Jim Bill was going to wear out
Alessandra with his machine gun questioning. A long stare at the fire marshal
worked.

Jim Bill’s tone of voice softened. “Rosswell is an
alcoholic.” Alessandra glanced at Rosswell, who nodded. Jim Bill continued, “Rosswell
told me that he had an episode in the park across the street.”

“Judge, Momma told me about that. I’m sorry that
happened to you.”

“As I explained to Mrs. Bolzoni, I did not drink one
drop of booze. I was exhausted and fell asleep in the park.”

A beat or two passed before Jim Bill resumed his
questioning. “Has anything similar happened to you?”

The question seemed to relax her. “Have I ever fallen
off the wagon?” She laughed, a high giggle. “Lots of times. There are whole
days I don’t remember. I’d wake up with empty bottles all over my apartment and
not remember drinking.”

Jim Bill shook his head. “Pardon me for not being
clear. Did something happen in Nathaniel’s house that didn’t include booze?”

Alessandra glowered at Jim Bill. All at once, her face
took on a look of surprise. “Rosswell?” She said nothing more.

“Yes?” Rosswell scooted forward in his seat. “What is
it?”

“I remember something out of place.”

“Where?” Jim Bill straightened and leaned forward. “While
you were at the house? River Heights Villa?”

Rosswell felt she was on the verge of a revelation. “That
didn’t involve alcohol?”

“I’d been there two weeks without a single taste of
liquor.”

Rosswell waited for her to continue, but when she didn’t,
he prompted her. “What was out of place?”

“I’m not sure. There was something strange, but it’s
hard for me to remember.”

“Perhaps we can jog your memory.” Jim Bill nodded in
the direction of the bookcase. “Rosswell, please do the honors.”

According to plan, Rosswell stood. After he reached
the back wall, he rubbed his hands along the piano hinges on the bookcase. “Have
you ever noticed these before?”

Alessandra peered closely. “They’re some kind of
decoration. Copper or bronze.”

“Brass. They’re hinges.” Rosswell poked the spot that
mattered and the bookcase door swung open.

Alessandra shot up, only to stumble backward, press
her palms against her cheek, and moan. “What is that?”

Jim Bill rose and stepped into the passageway. “A real
secret tunnel!”

Rosswell had to spill the information he’d learned. “It’s
not secret. You can visit the courthouse where its existence is documented. It goes
straight until it ends at a brick wall down there. That’s where I found the map
showing the tunnels running from Karyn and Jill’s houses to Nathaniel’s house.”

Alessandra said, “Karyn and Jill? Who are they?”

Rosswell said, “They’re waitresses who work for Mabel.
They’re also midwives.”

Alessandra’s throat clicked when she swallowed. “The
passageway triggers a memory. One night I awoke and saw something.”

Rosswell stepped closer to Alessandra. “Do you
remember what you saw?”

“Now I do. I got up out of bed and opened the door.”
She wiped her face, blinked, and drew in a deep breath. “That was unusual
because I was on lockdown. If you’re on lockdown, the rule is your door is
bolted from the outside. The only way to get out is to ring a buzzer and
somebody comes and opens the door. That night there was a thunderstorm and all
the lights were out. Dark everywhere. The only light was when the lightning
flashed. The place is supposed to have a backup generator. I heard people off
in the distance arguing about why the generator wasn’t coming on.”

Jim Bill held up a hand. “You were fully awake by
then?”

“Definitely.” Alessandra rubbed her head. “I wandered
the halls in the dark. I tried every door but they were all locked. Except one.
I went in a room where I could see someone on the other side of a glass.”

Rosswell kept his peace. This was Jim Bill’s show and
he didn’t want to screw it up.

“A window?”

“A window in a wall that looked into another room.”

“How could you see if the power had been cut off?”

Alessandra said, “One of those night light things that
comes on when the electricity goes out was in a wall socket. It was dim, but I
could see someone through the glass. It was me. I was pregnant. Asleep on a bed
in a room. It was a nice bedroom. Clean. Whoever had me in that room cared
about my baby. Not like a prison, except it was plain. No decorations. No
pictures on the wall. Then I realized that it was a one-way mirror I was
looking through.”

Alessandra walked to a window and pressed her hand
against the pane. When she returned to Rosswell and Jim Bill, she was crying. “Then
it was morning and I was in my own bed.”

Rosswell said, “Were you pregnant when you were there?”

“I’ve never been pregnant in my life.”

Jim Bill continued the interrogation. “What did it
smell like? The room with the mirror. Did it have an odor?”

Alessandra stared down the passageway, as if that
would help her remember an aroma. “Yes.” She focused on Rosswell. “I’d
forgotten about that. It smelled damp. Like wet dirt. The air was cool—not
stale, yet not fresh—and it was a wet smell. Not like a river. More like a…I
don’t know…a—”

“Cave?”

“Yes!” She smiled. “That’s it exactly. It smelled like
a cave.”