Mirror of Shadows (17 page)

He saw a flashlight among the wreckage on the seat, grabbed it, tested it to see if it worked, and headed to the shed.

It too was a shambles. Everything was overturned and lying all over the ground. This was not right. Marlin knew from experience that Jeremy liked his tools organized and where he could find them. He knew Jeremy was in trouble and he headed back to the house to get Meme while phoning in to check his messages at the office.

Sure enough, there was a message from Jeremy. He was in jail.

“Meme, you done?”

“Yes, dear, but maybe we should take the kitten with us.”

“Whatever you think is right, that’s fine. I’m going to drop you off at home and then I have to head down to the police station.”

“But honey, you haven’t had any dinner.”

“It’s Jeremy. He’s in jail. That’s why he wasn’t at the hospital and that’s why his truck’s here but he isn’t. The police have tossed his room and the shed. I don’t know what they think they have on the boy, but I think he’s in trouble.”

“Then promise me you will get something healthy to eat—no cheeseburger and fries,” Meme said, getting into the car with Boo.

“No promises, my sweet. I am what I am and that’s all that I am,” he said, driving back to town.

“Fine, Popeye, but don’t forget to eat your spinach with that cheeseburger.”

“You know I hate green things, dear.”

“Unless it’s a cupcake or green beer,” she argued.

“Now you’re talking, lady,” he agreed.

“Oh look. I guess they got that car running,” she said, commenting on the fact that the car was no longer there.

“I guess so,” Marlin said suspiciously.

“Well, that’s good. Nobody should be stuck in the woods in the dark with a broken car.”

“You’re a kind-hearted woman, Meme. That’s why I love you.”

“I love you too, dear,” she replied.

Chapter 17

Soon Marlin and Meme were back in town and sitting at a light near Hal’s Hardware Depot.

“Dear, isn’t that Patricia coming out of Hal’s with a jerry can?”

“I believe it is,” Marlin answered.

“Maybe we should stop and see if she needs any help. Maybe she’s out of gas.”

“She’s a big girl, my sweet. If she was out of gas she’d be at a gas station. They sell gas cans too, for just such an occasion; granted, they mark them up 500%.”

“Why else would she buy a jerry can?”

“I don’t know, dear, maybe she needs one for the lawn mower or a wood chipper, or maybe she plans on getting rid of incriminating evidence…Muhhhahahhaha… If you weren’t sure, that was my mad scientist laugh. But seriously, sweetheart, who knows? People buy them all the time,” he said pulling away when the light finally turned green.

“Fine, I suppose you’re right.”

“You know it; besides, I can only save so many people in one night without wearing my Superman costume. Saving young women from not having safe vehicles to drive, and saving young kittens from severe bouts of loneliness, starvation, and boredom, and let’s not forget I still have to rescue Jeremy.”

“You know, dear, that Superman suit’s getting a little tight around the middle.”

“How dare you insult Superman’s physique? Even Superman gets old and goes from a six pack to a pony keg.”

“Pony keg?” Meme lovingly teased and patted his belly.

“Okay, maybe a half-keg.”

They both laughed as he turned into the driveway of their home.

*****

Marlin found Jeremy behind bars looking mighty low, sitting with his hands clasped, head down, and elbows on his knees.

“Jeremy?” Marlin said, with an officer next to him unlocking the cell.

“Mr. Howard, how’s Ella? Is she okay? Can I see her? They wouldn’t let me go with her to the hospital. I didn’t want to leave her alone, but…”

“It’s okay, Jeremy. She’s okay. They’re keeping her in the hospital for a couple of days. They want to make sure there are no internal injuries, plus with two concussions so close together they want to keep an eye on her.”

“Thank God. I’ve been so worried. They wouldn’t tell me a thing. Not one thing. She looked bad when I found her. Really bad. I didn’t think she even knew who I was or where she was.”

“She knew you were there. She asked about you and where you were.”

“She did? Geez, I feel awful I wasn’t there. But she’s going to be all right?”

“Yes. How about we get out of here and get some dinner. I haven’t eaten and I’m sure you haven’t either. I just need to sign some papers and write a check to bail you out and we can go.”

“Thanks so much, Mr. Howard. I just can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s all right, but we need to talk, you and me. Go with this officer and get your personal things and I’ll meet you out front.”

“Right. Thanks again.”

*****

Marlin had been through the process of bailing out his clients before and for the most part it went smoothly. He found Jeremy outside pacing back and forth near the door.

“Ready?”

“Oh yeah,” Jeremy said with relief.

“Hop in,” Marlin said.

Just a couple of blocks from the station they pulled into a small diner. Once they were seated and their orders taken Marlin asked, “Okay, kiddo, what exactly happened up at the house?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t there when it happened. I saw an unfamiliar car parked in front of the house and started looking around for who might be the owner, but when I couldn’t find anyone. I headed to the back door to check the house and that’s when I saw the mess of scaffolding in a pile on Ella.

“I started digging her out as fast as I could. I had no idea how long she had been lying there but there was a lot of blood. I finally got everything off of her and took her in the house and called 911.

“The paramedics got there pretty fast but hot on their tails were the sheriff and some of his men. They hustled me out of the house and starting hammering me with questions so fast I could barely answer them fast enough. All the while I kept asking how Ella was and they wouldn’t tell me anything. Next thing I know they’re going through my truck and my room and the ambulance is pulling away. Few minutes later, I’m cuffed and sitting in the sheriff’s car.”

“So they didn’t tell you what they were charging you with?”

“They said something about attempted murder. They had some of my tools, but I don’t know much else. Do they really think I tried to kill Ella?”

“That seems to be the direction they’re heading. Part of the scaffolding had been sawed through. Your saw was found in the rubble with metal shavings in its teeth that match the scaffolding metal. Given that your tool was found to have also been involved in her last accident, they are looking into you as their prime suspect.”

“But anyone could have used my tools and my prints are going to be all over them; after all, I use them daily.”

“I know, it’s circumstantial at best, but given that both incidents so closely killed Ella, they’re examining anything and everything.”

“Right. So they think someone is trying to kill Ella. Why would anyone want to kill her? How could anyone benefit from that?”

“Well, she has recently come into a lot of money—that’s one motive and probably the most prevalent. Jealousy is also another strong motivation.”

“Are you saying they think I want her money? Or that I’m jealous of her dating Matt? That’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t get any money if she died, and I don’t particularly like Matt, but if I was jealous of her and Matt, I’d probably kill Matt, not Ella—not that I would kill Matt either, it’s just, you know, I don’t see the logic in their thinking.”

“Neither do I and that’s why I was able to get you out of jail. Like you said, most of the evidence is circumstantial and though you always seem to be around to rescue her, they can’t really come up with anything that places you there when the crimes occurred,” Marlin explained.

“So who would benefit money-wise if something happened to Ella?” Jeremy asked.

“The city mostly. Ella’s mother, Patricia, would get a small lump sum, but we’re not talking a lot here; the bulk of the estate would go to the city for charity.”

“Then there must be some other motive. Matt’s self absorbed and I wouldn’t trust him if my life depended on it, but I don’t see any reason he would try to kill Ella. Other than Matt, there’s that creepy guy that keeps scaring Ella, who wants to buy Grey Manor, but he’s got to be pushing eighty. I guess Ella’s mom stands to benefit some; in fact, she’s the only one I can see who would benefit.”

“Ella told me earlier today that Morton had been hounding her. I don’t get why he won’t just let it go. I’ve never understood why he wanted the property so badly. It’s not like this area has any mineral veins or oil. It just doesn’t make a lick of sense.”

“What about the strange car I saw at the house? Could that be something to go on?”

“Sorry, that’s my doing. My wife and I bought Ella the car as a gift. We never could have any children of our own and well, with Ella losing her grandmother, we just wanted to step in and serve as her faux parents.”

“That’s really nice of you,” Jeremy said.

“Well, I have to admit, it was mostly my wife. She thought of it—that woman has a heart of gold, I tell you.”

“Hmm. So what should we do about this mess?” Jeremy asked.

“You need to keep a low profile and steer clear of the police or any trouble, and I’ll try and figure out what our next move should be,” Marlin said as he paid the check and they headed to the car.

“I’ll take you home. I suggest you go and see Ella tomorrow. You should get some sleep—maybe downstairs since your room is upside down at the moment.”

“It is?” Jeremy asked.

Marlin nodded. “The police did a number on your room, the shed, and your truck. It’ll probably take you a couple of days to get it all back in order.”

“That bad, huh? I’ll try and get everything all cleaned up before Ella comes home from the hospital.”

“Keep out of the areas the police have taped off, or they’ll try and take you in for tampering with evidence,” Marlin said as they started winding up the road to the house.

“Right,” Jeremy said.

*****

“
What are all those lights?” Jeremy asked.

Red and blue blinking lights amongst a bunch of headlights almost completely blocked the road ahead.

“I don’t know, but the police seem to be very busy this evening,” Marlin answered.

Jeremy nodded. Marlin slowed as a policeman motioned for him to pull over. Marlin rolled down his window as he pulled next to the standing officer and stopped.

“What’s going on, officer?” Marlin asked.

“Oh, it’s you, Mr. Howard. Nice to see you. Looks like we found a body in the woods. Some kids were up here making trouble smoking and God knows what else, and tripped over a body in the woods. Think those kids won’t be messing around up here at night for a while.”

“I suppose not. Have they identified the body?”

“They have; not sure if I should say, but I figure you’ll know about it tomorrow anyway. It’s Harold Morton.”

“Harold? Dear Lord. Why would that old coot be wandering around in the woods at night at his age?”

“Don’t know, sir. Just know it’s him.”

“Well, that will keep the old biddies in city council talking up a storm.”

“No doubt. So where are you headed?”

“I’m taking Mr. Hickey here home to Grey Manor.”

“Mr. Hickey, huh? I thought he was at the station.”

“He was, but he’s out on bail and wanting to get home to get some sleep.”

“Right. Well, drive careful and I’ll see you on your way home.”

“Okay, then. Goodnight,” Marlin said.

“Night,” the officer said waving.

“Mr. Morton, is that the same Mr. Morton we were talking about?” Jeremy asked.

“The one and only.”

“Wow. I guess we can take him off the list of suspects then,” Jeremy surmised.

“I guess so,” Marlin said with a bit of sadness. The rest of the ride to the house was silent. Both men were shocked at the events of the evening. Though both knew there had been attempts on Ella’s life, she was fine and Morton was dead, and that’s about as final as things can get.

“Get some sleep, Jeremy. If anything comes up, call me,” Marlin said as Jeremy got out of the car.

“Thanks again, Mr. Howard, for everything.”

“No problem. Get some sleep…oh and don’t panic, my wife took Boo home, so she’s fine,” Marlin said, then drove off heading home.