Coughing & Donuts: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery (13 page)

"I'm begging you, Mercy. There's something bigger happening here and I need you to help me figure out what. I need to keep my kids safe." She was pleading with me. I couldn't let her down, but I honestly had no idea how in the world, I'd be able to help her. She must have forgotten that many people still believed that I helped Eli escape so that he could kill Mike.

"Will you help me?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

What could I do? She needed help. Just because I didn't entirely trust her didn't mean that I wasn't capable of finding something out for her.

"I'll try."

*

I did the only thing I knew to do. I called Charlie. I knew I was taking a risk in calling him about this, but he was the only one with experience enough to tell me how to go about finding out if Mike was murdered by someone with a vendetta or was there someone out there that had other victims in mind.

Charlie would be my only key to possibly gaining access to Eli. By now, Eli should have been transferred to the county lockup. I didn't know much, but I hadn't heard that he'd been accused of Rollie's murder too, so that brought me a little comfort. I couldn't believe that no one else, including his family had stepped in on his behalf. Where was his family in all of this?

After a few moments of back and forth between Charlie and me, he finally agreed to see what he could do about locating Eli for me. He wasn't happy about it, but he was willing to try to find some information, as long as I agreed not to go prying in places that my nose didn't belong. Whatever that meant!

“All I can do is make a phone call for you. I'm not guaranteeing anything. I don't have a relationship with these police officers. They don't have to tell me anything, so don't get your hopes up. Once I leave town, you're on your own, Mercy. I don't know that I'll be able to hop on a plane to bail you out of the trouble you get yourself into.” Irritation was evident in Charlie's voice. He hadn't come here to help me investigate new angles. He came here to stop me from investigating this case, but at this point, I couldn't. There were too many unanswered questions and too many fingers pointing at me, not to mention a young man that I believed was innocent.

Charlie asked, “What is it with you and this kid? Why is it so important to you that he not be the one involved? He's a troubled kid. Did you ever consider that he may be the one who is responsible for these crimes?”

I didn't know how to answer his questions because I wasn't sure myself. Something about Eli, convinced me that he wasn't the kind of person that could commit murder.

“I don't know. A gut feeling, I guess. I can't explain it.” I answered.

“So, you think that someone is just going to let you waltz in and speak to this kid? Mercy, if they suspect you had anything to do with his escape, I doubt they'll let you see him and, if they did, they'd record your every word to use against you.” Charlie explained, but those weren't things I hadn't considered. There was no reason for anyone to let me do anything at this point, but it was worth a shot, I thought.

“Charlie, did you ever feel compelled to want to find something out for yourself? That's what this feels like. I don't care if they think I did something. Eventually they'll find out that Amy was the one who had loosened his restraints and that Lou is the one who had failed to secure the exit door.

Wait a minute!

“Charlie, what if Lou is the murderer?” I asked.

Lou had proven that he could be an intimidating guy, but did he intimidate Mike too?

“He's a cop. You and your crazy theories! You can't go around suspecting everyone. First, you think it's one person, then, you think it's the next. If you ask me, I would be hedging my bets on the dog lady. This is why I keep telling you to mind your own business.” Charlie said.

“I know. And?” I asked.

Charlie hesitated and I understood it, but I thought the idea was worth contemplating. Brandi had said that Lou and Mike had a complicated relationship. I couldn't imagine that Mike would have been happy that Lou had been written into his parents' will. That alone should have caused strife.

“Charlie, think about it. Lou inherited a lot of money. Mike must have been angry about that. Maybe, they had an argument and things got out of control.”

“Was there evidence of a struggle? What did you see when you walked into the guard house?” Charlie was finally willing to consider the possibility that Lou could be the one responsible for Mike's death.

I thought back to the moment I walked into the guard house. Mike sat with his head down, his back turned to me. His food was spread out in front of him. Papers were neatly piled on the desk and some were attached to a clipboard. Nothing out of the ordinary came to mind.

“If you mean was there blood on the floor or chair, the answer is no. The office was actually pretty neat. The only things that didn't belong besides me were the bags of food that were on the desk.”

“Bags? Okay, so he was eating a good meal, then, what happened?” Charlie asked.

“It was hardly a good meal. It was a giant sandwich, filled with everything and anything you could think of and a bag of donuts. I mean tell me, who eats a bag of donuts in one sitting?” When I'd knocked the stuff down off the desk, I distinctly remember picking up a large plastic bag, filled with small round donuts.”

“Okay, so he was eating a meal – an unhealthy meal. When did you join the calorie squad?” He asked.

“I didn't. You asked me to tell you what I could remember and that's what I remember because I took the time to pick up every morsel of food he had in there and he couldn't be bothered to help.” Apparently, I was still angry about how rude he had been.

Charlie laughed. “You really need to learn to let things go. On another note, it's very likely that he was already dead, so if he would have gotten up to help you, you probably would have gone running for the hills.”

I really hoped he wasn't dead when I was with him. The thought of that gave me chills.

“Do you think you could get him to tell you how Mike died?” I asked, crossing my fingers.

Sighing heavily, Charlie said, “You're killing me, Mercy. You want me to ask the man you just accused of murder how he killed his victim or victims?”

“Yes, please.” I begged.

Watching Charlie leave, left me feeling all alone in the world. After meeting with him to discuss what he'd learned in his conversation with Lou, I had no idea how to proceed.

Despite Ruby and Hanks' pleas to go home and take some time off, I couldn't bring myself to give up just yet. Something was compelling me to stay here and continue my fight to learn the truth.

My plans for the day were to pay a visit to the county jail and see if Eli could help fill in the gaps for me and explain why he would have confessed to something he didn't do. No matter how I arranged all the varied stories, I couldn't find one single connection between any of what had happened and Eli. Nothing that would make me believe that killed either man.

Lou had been more than happy to disclose a number of details about Eli's checkered past to Charlie, but remained tight-lipped about Rollie's death. With all the news stories and countless rumors around town about what took place, no one really knew for sure what had happened. It was all wild speculation and downright crazy theories.

I hadn't been able to make contact with Karen to express my condolences. Her family and friends created a virtual impenetrable shield of protection around her and the police presence was enormous. Right now, she had the safest place in town.

It amazed me how vastly different Mike's family was treated following their equally devastating loss compared to the way Karen and her family were being treated. What a difference a hefty bank account can make even following a tragedy!

I was beginning to understand why Brandi had asked me to help her figure out what happened. It was pretty evident that with everyone's attention focused on Rollie's murder, there weren't many people left to look out for her and her children.

When I'd packed my clothes for this assignment, it never occurred to me to pack jail appropriate clothing.

“What does one wear when they visit an inmate?” I mused, looking through my closet filled with scrubs, sweatpants, yoga pants, and the dress I had to buy for Mike's disastrous memorial service.

With no other options and no chance of me venturing out for a jail shopping adventure, I chose the least child friendly scrubs I had and hopped in my car to make my way to the jail. I just hoped that once I arrived, they wouldn't decide to keep me.

*

“What are you doing here?”

I would have thought that just being inside of the jail would have made me nervous, but what actually rocked my nerves was the sight of Eli being escorted in shackles to visit me in the small, dank visiting room.

He scowled at me as he waited for me to respond to his question. “Well? Why did you come here?”

“I wanted to speak to you.” I said meekly.

“Well, here I am – chained like a dog, so I don't go crazy and kill you.” He snapped.

His words may have been angry, but his eyes weren't. I don't know what had gotten into me, but I still only saw a young man, begging for attention, when I looked at him.

I cleared my throat. “I just had some questions for you.” I looked at the guards. “It won't take that long.”

After the guards firmly secured his chains to the floor mounted iron rings, they took a few steps back to allow us the semblance of privacy. That didn't prompt Eli to change his stance though. He remained closed off, not wanting to speak to me, yet tolerating me at the same time. He was the epitome of mixed signals if I ever saw one.

“Well, you're here, so you might as well get it over with. I already told the cops, so I really don't know why I need to tell you too. Do you get some kind of pleasure out of listening to good-for-nothing punk kids confessing to all their sins?” His voice broke as he spoke, softening the steely resolve he pretended to have.

I took a deep breath, weighing how to broach this subject. Although he knew what it is I wanted to ask, actually asking the question somehow felt like a betrayal, but I wasn't quite sure to whom. I didn't honestly want to believe he killed anyone.

“Well?” He asked again, looking me directly in the eyes.

“The police said you confessed to the guard's murder.” My voice shook.

He sneered. “That's not a question. Try again.”

“Did you?” I asked, bracing myself for what I was sure would be the scariest moment of my life.

He laughed. “Yep.”

My throat went dry. I hadn't thought this out thoroughly. Now, what was I going to say?

He started cackling, causing the guards to move in closer to the table. He snapped at them. “I can't kill her. I'm chained to the floor, remember?”

Why was he so cocky? What had happened to him?

“You okay, ma'am?” One of the guards asked.

I glanced at Eli's face. His lip quivered, but when he noticed me looking at him, he quickly bit his lip to stop the slight movement. He was lying.
I knew it!

“I'm fine,” I told the guard. To Eli, I said, “Tell me the truth.”

Fighting tears, he said, “I shot him, okay. I killed him, just like Benetto said. I did it.”

He called for the guards to take him back to his cell. I sat in stunned silence. I should have better prepared myself for this exchange. It hadn't gone at all like I planned. Eli had to know that I knew the truth.
Why would he do this? Why would he say these things? What was he running from?

The guards escorted him out just as they'd brought him into the room. Eli's face hardened into a dark stare as the door shut behind him, separating him and I. He glanced over his shoulder at me as I watched him. The look he gave me confirmed he was no murderer.

*

It had been two days since I'd heard anything from anyone at the hospital. Amy's call surprised me.

“Hi! We're resuming a normal schedule and I just wanted to let you know. You and I are scheduled to work together tonight and we don't have to worry about staying away from the police holds. We don't have any right now and, if new ones come in, there shouldn't be a problem.” She explained.

I felt a mixture of relief and apprehension. I'd spent the last few days going over every possible scenario in my head, wondering if I'd missed something.

“Hello?” She asked. In my mind, I thought I'd responded to her, but apparently not.

“Oh, sorry. I was in la-la land.” I said.

“Girl, that's fine. We've all been a little out of it lately, but now that you-know-who confessed, we can finally start to get back to normal.” She said it so flippantly, as if the two murders were no big deal.

“I haven't heard anything on the news about Rollie's death. Have you heard anything?” I asked.

“No, not really. Sad, isn't it? I guess we'll never know why things like that happen.” She said.

Like what? I still hadn't heard how Rollie had died and trying to visit  Karen was the equivalent of getting a seat next to the President at his inauguration. It wasn't happening. I had to resort to having flowers and a card sent to her. That was so impersonal, but I had hoped that I'd get to have a moment with her before his services.

I almost asked Amy flat-out how Rollie died, but for what could possibly be the first time in my life, I gave it a second before I asked the question and decided to go with another tactic altogether.

“I know. I can't believe it. Has anything like that ever happened in Pleasant Cove before?”
Well played, if I do say so myself.

She giggled nervously. “Honestly, I don't really know what happened. Do you?”

Great, it was the blind leading the blind around here.

“You know what? I haven't slept today. I should try and grab a nap before work. I'll see you later?” The old avoid the question with a question was quickly becoming my new go-to method.

“Oh, okay. Well, we'll talk later. Make sure you bring your name tag and your ID when you go to work. They won't let you in otherwise and they are checking bags on the way in and out now too.” She informed me before hanging up.

I looked at the clock. I had approximately ten hours before I had to be at work. If I left now, I'd have plenty of time to pay Brandi a visit to get some more in depth information from her and seek out Alma to ask her some questions before digging into Eli's background. He had to have family nearby. I didn't imagine that this zip code was one a young man could afford without help from someone. I wondered if there was a girlfriend nearby. He had to have someone in his life that cared about him. Ten hours was plenty of time to find something out without getting in trouble. I hoped.

*

Brandi had me fooled. The way she spoke, I envisioned that she lived in some rundown place on the proverbial wrong side of the tracks. What I wasn't expecting to find were swanky apartments in a gated area that required a phone call from a guard before entering the neighborhood.
She played me like a fiddle.

The female guard said, “Tell me your name again.”

I stared ahead at the apartment complexes nestled between hills and beautiful lots as if I'd just landed on Earth a few minutes earlier.

The guard cleared her throat.

“Mercedes Mares. She knows me by Mercy. I'm a nurse in the...” I smiled nervously. “I work at the hospital.”

She grunted. “Oh, the psych hospital. Okay. Let me give her a call and tell her you're here.”

I watched as people strolled through the neighborhood, some in tennis gear, others in designer duds mimicking styles I'd seen on the covers of magazines. My ancient jalopy stuck out like a sore thumb in this neighborhood, not to mention the equally ancient woman with the humidity-controlled hair and nursing scrubs older than my car.

“She's says to go on over. Follow this path up until you get to the creek, then hang a quick left and go up the hill. You can't miss the buildings. They are white. Pull into the back. There's visitor parking there. Walk around to the front of the building and they'll direct you from there.” I didn't hear a word she'd said. I was still mesmerized by the scenery.

“Ma'am, go.” The guard said, knocking on my window.

“Yeah, can I ask you something? Is this place guarded twenty-four hours a day? If someone came here at night, how difficult would it be to get in here?” I asked, not realizing how awful that sounded.

She looked at me like I'd lost my mind. “You do realize that you sound like someone plotting a burglary, don't you?”

I did. I was just hoping that she didn't.

“I'm just curious. I'm new in town and in the market for a new place.” I was getting pretty good at this lying thing.

She looked from me to my car and back again. I knew what she was thinking, but would she say it out loud?

Nope.

“The police patrol this area pretty heavily. The whole town is pretty safe. We tend to take care of our own around here.” She answered.

“That's great!” I had to keep this rouse going. “So, do the police have access to this area at night or like if a guard is not around.”

Her eyebrows quirked up. She was curious to see where I was going with this conversation.

“They have access. Too much, if you ask me, but the residents are safe. Let's just say, our local police captain has a little crush on one of those celebrity types and things get a little sketchy sometimes.” She looked around to see if anyone nearby had heard her.

“Celebrity? Famous people live in these apartments?” In all the time I'd been here I still hadn't had an official sighting of any Hollywood types, except for the media and, as far as I knew, none of the patients I'd seen were anyone I recognized from television or the movies.