Jason Deas - Benny James 03 - Brushed Away (18 page)

The kid eyed the full envelope.

“Is that really a full car payment?”

“And then some. Let’s just say I’m replacing the light bulb I was responsible for breaking. You could probably make your car payment and buy fifty or sixty light bulbs with the remainder of the money.”

The kid started to grab the money and stopped.

“What do I have to do?”

“All you have to do is make one phone call and tell a couple of harmless lies.”

“I’ll do it.”

“I’m going to bring Uncle Karl home, and I’ll be back this afternoon.

“I’ll be ready.”

Benny handed the kid the envelope.

Chapter 22

Benny met Rachael at Rene’s for lunch. The place was hopping with media and locals as it had become the center point of the story. The walls were bare of the usual art as it had all been bought by various collectors and curious people wanting to cash in on the bizarre situation.

Rachael was greeted like a celebrity as she hugged and shook hands with a dozen or so people outside the café. The story had gained national attention. In similar fashion to the previous chapter in Tilley’s notorious appearance on the national stage it was being followed like a soap opera. The various media outlets had sent their stars and Rachael knew them all. She made sure to tell them all about the news conference she had scheduled for seven o’clock.

Rene greeted them at the door. She was on high with the attention and the money that was pouring through the door.

“Welcome back, Rachael.” Rene gave her a hug. “There’s just something about this town that won’t let you leave. I ditched Italy for this place.”

“There certainly is. I think it’s the people,” Rachael said, pointing to Benny playfully.

“He’s all right,” Rene joked.

“A spot just opened by the front window,” Rene said. “Are you expecting anybody else?”

“No,” Benny answered. “It’s just us. Is Angel working?”

“She is.”

“I would like Rachael to meet her. Can she wait on us?”

“This is actually her table today.”

“Perfect.”

Benny and Rachael slid into the booth. He grabbed her hand across the table and squeezed.

“I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Me too. It feels right. London felt wrong from the start. I can’t even begin to tell you where my head was.”

“You don’t have to,” Benny said squeezing her hand once more and letting go.

“Thanks.”

Angel approached their table.

“Hello.” She placed menus in front of each of them.

“Hi, Angel,” Benny said. “This is my friend, Rachael.”

Rachael extended her hand and the two girls shook.

“I’ve seen you on television, and I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but you’re even prettier in person.”

“Thank you, Angel. You wouldn’t believe the amount of makeup I had to have on my face for television. It was ridiculous. I always felt so fake.”

“Mr. James has been really nice to my family,” Angel offered. “You’re lucky to have him.” Angel winked at Benny and he turned a slight shade of red.

“That’s enough girl talk for now,” Benny cut in. “You two can talk makeup and boys at another occasion.”

The girls laughed.

“Why don’t we start today with a couple of gin and tonics,” Rachael suggested.

“As they say, it’s five o’clock somewhere,” Benny said giving a thumb’s up.

“I’ll be right back,” Angel said.

“The phone has been ringing off the hook at the station,” Rachael said.

“Any tips, or just media inquiries?”

“Mostly media. I did have a few angry women call for Charles.”

“Did he hit on you this morning?”

“Of course he did!”

They both laughed as the drinks arrived.

“Are you guys ready to order?” Angel asked.

Benny and Rachael ordered and Angel disappeared again.

“I don’t know how Charles keeps his job,” Rachael said, taking a sip of her drink.

“Nobody runs against him. I’ve been putting a bug in Vernon’s ear trying to get him to run in the next election.”

“He’s too loyal. He won’t do it.”

“And he’s scared. He thinks the county would still vote by skin color.”

“It’s not 1950!”

“And you’re not black. You don’t know how he feels.”

“I think African American is more appropriate.”

Benny laughed. “I asked Vernon because I thought the same thing, and he said he didn’t care. He said black was OK.”

“Whatever. It’s beside the point. He would make a great chief and sheriff. Tell me again how Charles is both Chief of Police and Sheriff of Gladdis County?”

“Gladdis County is the smallest county in the state of Georgia and Chuckie had the ingenious idea of combining the two positions to save the taxpayers money. They voted on it and it passed.”

“That’s right.”

When the food arrived, the conversation paused.

As Angel walked away, Rachael’s eyes lit up. “I have a great idea.”

“Shoot,” Benny said, as he tried to figure out a way to pick up his mammoth sandwich and sink his teeth into it.

“Instead of interviewing you tonight at the seven o’clock news conference, I’ll interview Vernon. It’ll be his coming out party. Once he’s a star on the national stage, he’ll be a shoo-in for Sheriff of Gladdis County.”

“You think he can handle the pressure?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

Benny and Rachael ate their lunch and chatted, catching up on random things that had happened in their lives since the last time they had seen each other.

As they were finishing their food, Benny noticed Dr. Walton entering the café. Benny was surprised to see Angel not only greeting him with a gregarious smile, but also a tight hug as she twisted him back and forth in her embrace. He beamed like a man without a care in the world. 

“Did you see that?” Benny asked Rachael.

“Yeah. What did I just see?”

“Angel just hugged Dr. Walton. His mother was found dead last night.”

“Then, why is he so happy?” Rachael asked.

“That’s what I want to know.”

Chapter 23

After a long lunch, Benny and Rachael split up again. She headed back to the police station to field more calls. She also wanted to break the news to Vernon that he would be going on television later in the day. Rachael hoped he would agree to the idea without seeing her and Benny’s motives. They agreed he might balk at the idea if he knew the big picture.

Benny switched to iced tea and waited for the lunch rush to die as he pored over his thoughts and observed the room and all of its characters. His plan for the day was to eliminate at least a couple of suspects from his list. He decided to start with Rene. Benny felt that he knew her pretty well from all the lunches and drinks he had consumed in the past few years in her café, but he had hardly had any dealings with her away from her business.

Benny decided Rene had the most to gain monetarily from the murders, as she was getting a hefty cut of all the art sales. He wondered if her business was in some sort of financial jeopardy or if she had borrowed money to buy her boat and was having trouble paying it back. He made a mental note to go by Ned’s when he left to get him digging into her bank records. Benny also remembered he had not picked up the laptop computer he’d dropped off a few days earlier.

Rene noticed Benny staring out the window deep in thought.

“Everything OK?” she asked quietly so as not to frighten him.

“We need to talk in private.”

“Sure. Everything seems to be under control at the minute and I’m not expecting any more art to come in until this evening. We can go in my office and shut the door.”

“That would be great.”

Rene’s office was small. It had four exposed brick walls, a desk, and two chairs. A painting of Venice and a calendar were the only two things hanging on the wall.

Rene did not walk to the other side of the desk and sit down, but pulled the two chairs apart and sat directly across from Benny.

She slapped his knee playfully and said, “Grill me. I’m ready.” Rene gave him her best smile.

Benny was used to being the one that had the psychological advantage. He couldn’t help noticing how she didn’t separate herself from him with the desk, and how she was very much in his personal space.

Two can play this game.
Benny scooted his chair a little closer to her.

“I feel like I’ve known you a long time,” he began.

“You have. You moved to town right after I opened, so I guess you could say you’ve known me as long as anybody else in town.”

“Tell me again why you moved here?”

“You know the story,” Rene said, losing the smile. “What is this?”

“I know you were kidding when you told me to grill you, but I have to. So let’s get it over with. Then we can go back to being friends. Let me do my job, and then you can hopefully forgive me for doing it thoroughly. If you didn’t have anything to do with the murders we can both look back on this uncomfortable situation and laugh.”

“OK. Do your job.”

“Why did you move from Italy to Georgia?”

“My husband was transferred.”

“Were you happy to leave Italy?”

“I was excited, yes. I had never been to the United States, and I was curious to see what life was like here.”

“Were there any other reasons?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“Were you running away from anything? Was there anything or anybody you were happy to get far away from?”

“No! I don’t have any enemies and I’ve never been in trouble with the law in this country or my own. I’ve never had a parking ticket or even a library fine.”

“Why didn’t you go back?”

Rene sighed. “I fell in love with this town and out of love with my husband. He worked constantly and I felt like the townspeople had become a family of sorts.” She fidgeted and bit at her knuckle. “I don’t see what any of my past has to do with the current murders.”

“People kill for crazy reasons, and I’ve seen problems follow people across oceans before.”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

“You have lied to me before,” Benny said, staring straight into her eyes.

“I never!” Rene said, standing up quickly and plopping back down.

“Think about it,” Benny said, holding his gaze. “If it’s the only lie you’ve ever told me you should be able to think of what I’m thinking about. I know what I know. If not, then we may have more problems to look into.”

“Ah, Jesus,” she said, as it hit her. “Big E.”

“Bingo. Tell me about it.”

“I didn’t think you guys saw him leaving that day. I should have known you knew when you made that smartass comment about smelling cologne even though he doesn’t wear any. You were already suspicious and testing me.”

“Nature of the business. Now, spill.”

“When my husband moved back to Italy I decided I wanted to live on a sailboat. I didn’t need a big place and knew I would be working most of the time, so I went sailboat shopping. I was shocked at how much they cost. An acquaintance told me about Big E. The acquaintance said he had heard a few people leased boats from him. I drove over to the marina and he leased me a boat.”

“Does he lease a lot of boats?”

“I don’t really know.”

“Go on.” Benny scratched his forehead.

“When the lease paperwork was finished he asked me where I was going to keep the boat. I told him at either the Sleepy Cove Marina where you live or at his marina. I had hoped the Sleepy Cove Marina as it would’ve been closer to work, but that didn’t work out.  I thought it would cost fifty to a hundred bucks a month to keep a boat at a marina.”

Benny tried not to smile but did anyway.

“As you know,” Rene continued, “it can cost as much as a boat payment. I was floored. Big E knew he had me. I had just leased a boat and had nowhere to keep it.” Rene paused. “What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this room.”

“Absolutely.”

“Even to Vernon and Rachael.”

“I promise,” Benny said.

“Big E said something about being a busy man and not having time for a steady girlfriend and blah, blah, blah. What he basically offered me was a free slip for sex once a month. He calls it a date. I call it paying the rent.”

Benny nodded.

“I know it’s terrible and that’s why I lied. I’m not the kind of person that lies or does horrible things. I just got caught in a really bad situation and made some bad choices.”

“That’s it?” Benny asked.

“I swear, that’s it.”

“Then we’re done here.”

They both let out sighs of relief. The stress that had filled the room dissipated.

“Aren’t you going to ask me any more about the situation with Big E?”

“No. I don’t think that has anything to do with the case—so that’s a question that Benny your friend would have to ask you, not Benny the investigator.”

Benny stood up.

“Will my friend please sit down for a second?”

“We’re still friends?” Benny asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Of course. I understand you have an important job to do.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you think I’m a horrible person?”

Benny recalled it was the second time in less than twenty-four hours he had been asked the exact same question.

He gave the exact same answer. “No, I think you’re human.”

Benny called Vernon on his way back to the ice cream kid’s house.

“I think Rene’s clean,” Benny said, when Vernon answered.

“I figured she would be, but you never know.”

“She admitted that she had some dealings with Big E and explained why he was on her boat that day. I hope you don’t mind but she asked me to keep it private.”

“Hey, I don’t care if it doesn’t have anything to do with the case. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“That’s what I like about you. I’m headed to see if I can eliminate another suspect. Remember all that mud we saw on the front of Big E’s boat?”

“Yeah. We had talked about how he might’ve been the one who ran their boat into the shore at the first murder site.”

“I’m going to try to shake some information out of him. What’s on your docket for the next few hours?”