HIGHWAY HOMICIDE (14 page)

Lisa looked shocked as Carl slipped one side of a pair of handcuffs on David’s outstretched wrist.

“
Carl
!” she exploded, “For Christ’s sake, man, that’s not necessary. He’s not doing anyone any harm.”

Carl thought for a moment.

“Oh, what the hell,” he muttered. “Finish your meal.” He unlocked the cuffs and put them back on his belt.

“Its tough to do any proper police work around here, without women interrupting and getting in your goddamned way,” he said in a loud voice to the diner at large.

“Are you going to arrest me then?” David asked him.

“Well, that depends a lot on whether you come willingly for questioning, or not.”

“Of course I’ll come willing, Sheriff. That’s what I’m here for, and it was me that called you, remember - both times actually. I’m here to give myself up.” David told him.

“Whether I arrest you or not depends an awful lot on whether this young lady wants to prefer charges of auto theft against you.”

Lisa shook her head.

“No, Carl, its okay. There was no real harm done. And all it cost me was another free breakfast for Jack Tyler. So, no, I don’t want to lay any charges.”

David thanked her as Carl said in a conversational tone, “Well, that’s one down, I guess, and two to go. Fortunately for you, if not for him, the owner of the tractor you stole has been dead for years. But you know that already, don’t you?”

David nodded, wondering where this conversation was headed.

“Well, that makes it two down and one to go then, doesn’t it? So, have you done any damage to that Buick out there?”

David shook his head.

“Alright, then, if you haven’t banged it up, I think I can get Sam Connor to agree to a joyriding charge, instead of auto theft. Sam was pretty pissed at you though, because he and his wife were about to leave for a day in the Capital. Sam’s okay, but the one person you don’t want to piss off around here is Sally Connor. One look from that woman can strip the hide off you.”

“We’re gonna tell her you said that, Carl, so watch out, next time you see her,” Al Barrow called out.

Carl swung around on his stool.

“Tell me something, Al. Y
ou ever seen one of our jail cells from the inside looking out? No? Then don’t plan to start now, okay?”

Al grinned back at him but didn’t say anything else.

“Anyway, to continue, Mr. Gates, I’d strongly suggest you pay him for any gas you used. Also, it might be a good idea for you to buy him and his good lady a dinner when they go into the Capital next. If you were to sweeten the pot like that, he may be more inclined to drop the auto theft charge against you.”

“That’s bribery, Sheriff. Are you condoning bribery now?” one of the woman diners said.

“Condoning it? Hell, no, Joyce, I’m
suggesting
it! A means to an end to solve a problem here.”

David stared at him in amazement.

“So what do I get for a joyriding charge then?”

Instead of answering right away, Carl picked up David’s hand and held it out over the counter towards Lisa.

“You get a slap on the wrist, Mr. Gates. Slap him for me will you, Lisa.”

Lisa gave David’s wrist a playful slap and smiled at him. Man, but he does have the cutest blues though, doesn’t he, she thought.

“And that’s it?” David asked, absolutely stunned at the turn of events. “What about the dead girl out on the highway?”

Carl looked hard at him, sizing him up one last time.

“I don’t know what exactly caused you to run, Mr. Gates, and perhaps you can explain all that to me down at the station house. The fact is, though, we know for a fact
you
weren’t responsible for the girl. When we talk later we can perhaps compare notes. A lot has happened since you left here, including another murder.”

Carl paused to see if that news had any effect on David Gates, but he appeared to just be an interested listener. He hadn’t reacted at all.

“A lot of what has happened here does concern you directly though and I’m afraid it isn’t something you’ll want to hear, I’m sure. But the good news for you, Mr. Gates, is I won’t be charging you for anything. But Lisa here will be.”

“But you said…” David said, alarmed.

“Just pay her for the burger and let’s get out of here.” Carl grinned.            “You might remember, too, we aren’t all the bunch of country hicks the flatlanders take us to be.”

In
Vermont, anyone who wasn’t from the hill or mountain country was considered to be a flatlander and consequently a somewhat lesser mortal by implication.

Lisa reached over the counter and gave Carl a quick peck on the cheek.

“Thanks, Carl, you’re a good man,” and to herself she said, and I’m a good woman, if you’d only take the goddamned time to notice. “You’re good for a free lunch, next time you’re in too. An extra special hoagie.”

“Christ, Lisa, I’ll let all my felons go, if you want to make that a regular arrangement.”

“Just get out of here, Carl, while you’re still ahead of the game. Oh, just a minute, though, I’ll be right back,” she said as she went out into the back room. A moment later she returned.

“Here,” she said, handing David a fleece lined parka. “This is a gift, not a loan
. I told you the last time you were in here you weren’t dressed properly for the winter, didn’t I?”

David thanked her and slipped the warm coat on.

“Ready now?” Carl asked and David nodded.

As they left the diner, Lisa’s sister Rosetta who had finally sat down at the other end of the counter said, “He’s pretty nice, isn’t he?”

“Sure he is. That’s if car thieves with cute blue eyes turn you on, Rosetta,” Lisa said to her. “In any case, he’s way too young for me. Carl is far more my style, but our newly pardoned fugitive would be fair game for you though, sweetie, wouldn’t he?”

Rosetta
didn’t answer. She was busily watching David Gates get into the patrol car.

Lisa put her arm around her sister’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Rosie. He’ll be back, you can bank on it. And when he does, he won’t be able to take his eyes of you for an instant. You won’t find one like him working with a computer, I can tell you”

Chapter Twenty One

Carl sat down at his desk and leaned back in his old wooden swivel chair. Judy put a manila file down on the desk in front of him.

“Thanks, Jude. Would you ask Almost to bring Mr. Gates in now, please?”

David Gates had been waiting in their tiny interview room at the back of the office. Due to their somewhat limited space, it doubled as interview room, coffee making area and because of the old chesterfield in there, as a place for an afternoon nap, if things were really quiet.

As far as policing was concerned, the role of a local Sheriff and his staff had changed considerably over the years. Once the Vermont State Police had been established, the County Sheriffs did very little actual policing. The main highways and Interstates were patrolled by the State troopers and responded to major crimes. The County Sheriffs relied on them to provide any extra services, should they need them. Consequently, although there was a population of over eleven thousand in the County in which Cooper’s Corners was located, much of their area of responsibility was for minor crimes occurring in the small towns and widely scattered villages. The Sheriffs also had the authority to choose and hire their own staff and deputies as and when they needed them

Judy smiled to herself as she went out. Carl was learning fast. Since his rebuke by Lisa, he was adding ‘please’ to almost every request now. Not to all of them yet but at least it was a start. Judy went into their little interview room and returned with David Gates and Almost.

Almost parked himself at his desk beside the jail cells as David stood silently in front of Carl’s desk.

“Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable,” Carl said pleasan
tly. “You said at the diner you have a lot to tell me. And, likewise, I’ve got a lot to tell you as well, Mr. Gates.”

“David,” David said as he dragged over a chair in front of Carl’s desk and sat down.

“What?”

“David,” David repeated. “My friends call me David.”

“Friends, eh?” Carl mused. “You want us all to be friends then, do you? Well, since I’m not charging you with anything and Lisa’s already given you your slap on the wrist, I guess there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be. Although I have to tell you, Dave, that most of my friends don’t have me running round the County like a goddamned chicken with its head off.”

“I’m really sorry, Sheriff,
but like I said at the diner, I’ve come back here to explain myself to you.”

Carl sat and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, while Almost and Jude looked on expectantly from their desks.

Suddenly, he leaned forward and stuck out his hand.

“Alright, Dave,” he said, as he shook David’s hand. “We may as well start off here with a clean slate.”

David was visibly relieved and Judy and Almost were both smiling until Carl added, “Still, I can always charge you if I don’t like your story though, can’t I?”

David dropped Carl’s hand as though it were on fire and gave him a shocked look.

“Kidding, Dave. Just kidding. We kid around a lot in this office of ours, so if you’re planning to be friendly with us, you’d better get used to it pretty damned quick. Okay,
friend
?”

David gave him a nervous grin and said, “Thank you, I
appreciate that. It’s just these last couple of days have been such an absolute hell for me. I don’t think I’ve ever been so cold in my entire life.”

Carl looked over at Judy.

“Hey, Jude, aren’t you forgetting your official hostess duties. We have a guest, goddamn it. Where’s the coffee and donuts?”

Judy gave him a cool look but didn’t get up from her desk.

“Aren’t you forgetting something too, Chief?” she asked.

“Forgetting something? Like what?”

“How about like a ‘please’ for instance. You learn pretty fast, Carl Berger, but, dammit man, you forget just as quickly.”

“Oh, yeah, right. Sorry, Jude. May we
please
have some coffee and donuts?”

“That’s better, Carl. We’ll teach you some manners yet. And don’t you go putting your feet up on the desk while I’m out of the room either. We have a guest here, remember?” she said as she went out back, grinning broadly.

“That woman is constantly undermining my authority, you know that?” Carl said.

“Maybe that’s true; Sheriff, but I
can sure see you’re all good friends.”

A moment or two later, the door opened again and Judy came back in with the coffee and donuts. She put the tray down on the corner of Carl’s desk and said, “You guys can help yourselves. I may be the official gofer around here, but if I’d wanted to be a goddamned waitress I’d be working for Lisa.”

David Gates was astounded. When he’d made his decision to give himself up, he’d resigned himself to a lengthy trial and a long stretch of jail time. But right now, thanks to these people, he didn’t think he’d ever felt freer in his entire life. But he hadn’t heard yet what Carl had to tell him yet either.

Over coffee and donuts, David related in detail everythi
ng that had occurred since he’d awakened beside Maria’s body out on the highway. He then told them about his experience as the awful vision of Maria lying dead on his living room floor had popped suddenly into his head.

Carl, Judy and Almost listened intently to every word he said. David had agreed to the interview being taped and had declined the offer to have
a lawyer present. The fact the interview would be on tape made it unnecessary for his listeners to take notes and finally David’s story came to an end. 

“That’s it, Sheriff Berger, that’s everything that happened and I’m really sorry abou
t all the trouble I caused you,” he said.

“Carl,” Carl said. “It’s Carl to my friends,” he added.

David smiled around at them all.

“Thank you,” he said, “Thanks to all of you.”

“Whoa, don’t thank us yet, Dave.” Carl said. “Now it’s my turn and I’m sorry but you aren’t going to like what I have to tell you one little bit.”

“Why, what’s happened? What could possibly be worse than Maria being killed, for God’s sake?”

“No, Dave, not worse. Of course it’s not worse. I didn’t mean it to come out like that. I’m sorry.”

“What then? Tell me.”

Carl paused for a moment, looked at Judy and Almost and then said, “I’m afraid someone has burned your house down, Dave. As I said, I’m sorry.”

“What!” David exploded as the realization of what Carl had just said hit him. He jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over backwards.

“But
why
?  Why would anyone do that? Was it vandals or does someone somewhere really hate me that much?” He shook his head angrily from side to side. “Because it’s where that lousy bastard killed Maria. That’s why, isn’t it? To destroy the evidence, right. I told you I remember there being blood all over the carpet,” David said bitterly.