Letter to Belinda (51 page)

*     *     *

Miranda stayed at the scene of Lennie’s accident to wait on the police to arrive, because she knew they would want to question all the witnesses. They first examined Lennie’s body, and determined that he was dead, and laid a sheet over him. Then they turned to the men who hit him, and gave the driver a breathalyzer test, to see if he was intoxicated. They questioned them extensively, and then turned to Miranda.

“Your name, please?”

“Miranda Monroe. I live right here.”

“Did you witness the accident?”

“No sir. I was on my front porch, when I heard the screeching tires, and a thud. I thought someone had hit a deer, until I heard frantic voices, and I knew it was serious. I got in my car and drove up to my mailbox. I saw the truck sitting where it is now, with those two men standing in front of it. When I went to see what they had hit, my heart sank, because it was that retarded man that lives down the road.”

“Did you know him?”

“Sort of. I see him all the time, riding his bicycle up and down the road. Sometimes he stops and talks to me while I’m getting my mail. His name is Lennie Kellerman. He lives in that brick house down the road. The only house on the right side, coming this way.”

“Anyone live there with him?”

“No, he lives alone. Just recently, I took Lennie to Birmingham to see a medical specialist, because he had no transportation but that bike. His family doctor recommended that he have an MRI.”

“So you took him to Birmingham?”

“Yes, to UAB Medical Center.”

“And you are not related to him?”

“No, from what I understand, Lennie had no family. That’s why I offered to take him to the doctor.”

“Do you know why he had to go to the doctor?”

“Yes, he openly told me that he had a brain tumor, and from what the doctors told him, there was nothing they could do about it.”

“I see. How did he take the news?”

“It didn’t seem to phase him, actually. Lennie was always so happy and care-free. He had the mentality of a big kid. Even after he told me about the tumor, he acted like it was nothing. He shrugged it off by saying, ‘everybody dies from something’, which I thought was a very mature way of looking at it.”

“Do you know why he was out on his bike tonight?”

“No, but he often rides his bike up and down this road, both day and night. There usually isn’t much traffic, so it is usually safe.”

“The other witnesses said he seemed to be coming out of that next driveway. Who lives up that driveway?”

“Uh, I think it is Mr. and Mrs. Rosewood. You know, the Federal Judge.”

“Oh, Leon Rosewood, the Judge! I knew he lived up the road here somewhere. So I guess I need to go knock on his door to see what he knows, since the victim appeared to be coming out of his driveway. Is there anything else you can tell me about Mr. Kellerman?”

“Well, in spite of his retardation, he was a really nice person. I took him out to lunch once, and to breakfast another time, just because he didn’t seem to have any friends. I felt sorry for him. He said people made fun of him all his life, because of the way he looked, and the way he talked, and the fact that he was different. But sometimes he had a dark side. He would talk about strange things, and off-the-wall stuff. I just wrote it off as being the effects of his brain tumor. Sometimes he behaved irrationally. Sometimes he would get really angry for no good reason, and times like that, he scared me.”

“Explain his irrational behavior.”

“Well, I’m no psychiatrist, but sometimes he behaved scared and nervous, and thought people were out to get him. Of course, no one was out to get him, but you couldn’t convince him of that. The same people who were making fun of him, were the ones who were out to get him.”

“That’s interesting,” the officer said, as he made notes in his pad. “Tell me, did he ever show signs of wanting to commit suicide? Especially after he found out he had the brain tumor?”

“Well, he did say that if he died, he would get to see his mother and father again, and all his friends and family members who were already up in Heaven. He seemed pleased by that thought.”

“But did he ever say that he was considering suicide?”

“Not in so many words, but he did say that he thought he would be better off in Heaven, if you could interpret that as being suicidal.”

“Okay.” The officer noted this. “When was the last time you saw him alive?”

“I saw him earlier today. I was coming home from Wal-Mart, and saw him riding his bike down the road. That was one, or two in the afternoon.”

“In your opinion, was the truck that hit Mr. Kellerman speeding at the time of the accident?”

“I can’t say. I mean, I can’t see the highway from my house, and I didn’t pay any attention to the sound of them passing, until I heard the brakes screech.”

“Is there anything else you can remember?”

“No, I’ve told you what I saw, which wasn’t much. I just hate that such a thing happened to a nice person like Lennie. He had the mentality of a child, and it seems so unfair. I know I’m going to cry later, even though I didn’t know him well.”

“Okay, Mrs. Monroe. Thank you for your time. You said Judge Rosewood lives next door?”

“Yes.”

“Have a good evening.”

Miranda breathed a big sigh of relief, as she drove back home. Her first encounter with the police was over, and she thought she handled it just fine. She did not panic, and did not raise suspicions. That was good. She tried to behave like anyone would in a similar situation.

But she breathed the biggest sigh of relief when she realized that now she was basically home free. Whether or not Lennie deliberately steered into that truck was not her main concern right now, only that he was now incapable of unintentionally betraying her to the police. She had dropped enough crumbs of evidence that would point toward Lennie, how could the police suspect anyone else?

It made her nervous that the police were going to the Judge’s house, but what would they find to suspect anything? All the evidence had been removed. How could they think anything other than they were simply not at home?

But then, as she was about to get out of her car, a thought stung her.
The
Judge’s
wallet!
I
planted
it
on
Lennie.
That
was
stupid,
because
they
will
find
it,
and
now
they
will
suspect
that
something
might
have
happened
to
the
Judge!
Instead
of
no
one
missing
the
Judge
until
his
wife
returns
from
Europe,
now
they
will
suspect
something
starting
today!

Suddenly, planting the wallet on Lennie didn’t seem like such a brilliant idea.
And
another
thing,
genius,
did
you
leave
your
fingerprints
on
the
wallet?
She did not have her gloves on when she planted it. This thought made her uneasy. There could be
no
plausible
reason
for her fingerprints to be found on the Judge’s wallet. For a fleeting moment, she considered going back to Lennie’s body and trying to retrieve the wallet, but now it would be too risky. What was done, was done. She just hoped that nothing pointed back to her.

She had another disturbing thought.
Did
Lennie
keep
a
diary?
If
so,
he
might
have
wrote
down
all
about
her
cutting
up
the
judge
and
burying
him
under
her
pool.
Did
he
ever
say
anything
about
keeping
a
diary?
I
don’t
think
so,
but
can
I
afford
to
take
that
chance?
I
know
the
police
are
going
to
search
his
house.
Maybe
I
should
go
search
his
house
before
they
do?

She got out of her car and went into her house.
What
should
I
do?
She went out back, to admire her new swimming pool, and remembered that it was time to start filling the pool, so she rolled out the garden hose, and dropped it into her pool, then turned it on full blast. She noted how insignificant the small amount of water seemed in the big pool. This was going to take
days
to fill. As it filled, she nervously paced back and forth.
If
I’m
going
to
do
it,
I
need
to
do
it
tonight,
because
the
police
will
probably
search
Lennie’s
house
tomorrow.
When
they
can’t
find
the
judge
tonight,
they
probably
won’t
think
much
of
it.
No
evidence
of
foul
play
at
his
house,
and
that
could
mean
nothing
more
than
Lennie
just
found
the
judge’s
wallet
on
the
side
of
the
road.
They
would
try
to
contact
the
judge,
of
course,
to
return
the
wallet,
but
it
shouldn’t
alarm
them
that
they
can’t
find
him.
Therefore,
tonight
is
the
perfect
time
to
go
search
Lennie’s
house,
just
to
give
myself
some
peace
of
mind.
Yes,
that’s
what
I’ll
do.

She was already wearing her dark clothes that she had wore to the judge’s house, but she went to get her latex gloves and shoved them in the pocket of her tight fitting jeans. She would not risk driving to Lennie’s house, and letting someone see her car there. No, Lennie lived within a half mile from her, so she would take her flashlight and slip down the road, keeping to the woods, in case she saw a car. Like a cat-burglar, she would check out Lennie’s house for possible incriminating evidence.

*     *     *

Calvin thought he was going to jail too, but he was surprised when one of the officers told him that they would be dropping him off at his house, on the way to Arlington.

“You mean I’m not being arrested too?”

“What for? There are no charges against you. Were you driving the car?”

“No sir.”

“Were drugs or alcohol involved?”

“No sir.”

“Then you were just at the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong person. There is no law against that. Besides, I know your Dad. I know you are basically a good kid, so I’m letting you off easy!”

Cory was incensed. “You know my Dad too! Can’t you let me go?”

“No. We clocked you doing 80 in a 35 mph zone. No, you are going to jail. We can probably release you to the custody of your dad, but we have to book you first.”

“But then I’ll have a criminal record!”

“Not a criminal record, but a strike against you on moving violations.”

“What if I told you that I learned my lesson, and that I’ll never speed again?”

“You will probably remember that a lot better if it is emphasized by your dad! That’s always been my feeling. I’m sure your dad will have some way of occasionally reminding you that you screwed up. Besides, it’s the law. We are bound to arresting you in this circumstance.”

“My driveway is the next one on the right,” Calvin reminded them, in case they forgot the address. Cory shot him a daggered look. The car pulled over, and Calvin got out. “See you later, Cory!” Cory did not reply, but he could imagine what was going through his mind.