Murder at the High School Reunion (16 page)

We’d been working on the case for almost a week, and I
wondered if we were getting anywhere. At least that was my thought when I woke
up Friday morning and took stock of what we had planned for the day. We had
planned to work three angles. I hoped that one of them would pay off. We’d
start with another visit with Duck Spencer, see if he’d confess that he closed
and locked that door while in a rage. If that didn’t work, we’d move on to the
attorney who handled Jimmy Conkwright’s will. While I didn’t expect him to tell
me that either of the parties confessed to murder during the reading of the
will, maybe he would be able to tell me something about the state of mind of
either of the windfall’s recipients. Last, we’d visit with the two families
named Van Meter to find out if they were related to the mysterious girl who
died in that car wreck twenty years ago.

I got up, went through my morning routine, which was
everything from eating, to showering, to working out, then called Lou and told
him I was on my way.

I walked out the front door and froze. It was the
first time I’d seen Heloise Humphert since she was incarcerated. She looked at
me and stuck out her tongue. I swear, it looked like the furball did the same.
Evidently, she’d learned her lesson, because she made no move to jump my bones.
She remained in her yard, and the varmint did too.

+++

I pulled up in front of Lou’s place and he rushed out
to join Lightning and me. He slid onto the seat, buckled up, and as I was about
to take off, he said, “Don’t start yet.”

“Don’t start yet is today’s clue.”

“No, I’ll share that with you in a moment. Cy, we need
to talk first.”

I’d heard those same words spoken on occasion, usually
by a man or a woman who was about to break up with someone. Lou and I weren’t
that type of a couple, and I didn’t think that Lou wanted to quit working with
me. But I could contain myself no longer.

“Lou, have I done something wrong?”

“Many times, but that doesn’t have anything to do with
what we need to talk about. Thelma Lou called last night.”

“Oh, Lou, I’m so sorry. I thought that maybe some day
the two of you would end up getting married.”

“We’re not breaking up.”

“Oh, I always thought of you as someone who would wait
until he got married to have kids. That’s okay, Lou. I don’t agree with it, but
I’ll still support you.”

“Cy, will you shut up for a minute so I can tell you
what I have to tell you.”

“You don’t mean Thelma Lou has…”

“Cy, button your lip!”

“Go ahead. I’m all ears.”

“No, you’re mostly mouth. Well, you are now that
you’re losing weight. Anyway, Thelma Lou’s cousin is coming to visit this
weekend. She’s thinking about moving here and wanted to get a feel for the
place.”

“But she doesn’t need my okay.”

“But she does if Thelma Lou gets her way. She wants us
to have a double date this weekend.”

“How old is she? We really don’t know much of anyone
except for the guys on the force. Most of them are married, and we’re doing our
best to pair up Officer Davis and Heather. Who’s left?”

“Who do I usually double date with?”

“Me, but that’s with Betty McElroy.”

“That’s another thing we need to talk about. Betty
called Thelma Lou and told her that she’s moving to Indiana to be close to her
grandchildren. She wanted to tell you as soon as possible, but she knew we were
busy on this case. Besides, you and Betty weren’t more than friends.”

“But how do you know I’ll even like this cousin?”

“Well, I think your best chance will be if you meet
her. Thelma Lou wants to schedule something for tomorrow, and then Sunday after
church. It’s not like you’re getting married. If there aren’t any sparks, then
you don’t have to see her again.”

Lou laughed.

“What’s funny, Lou? Does she look that bad?”

“It’s not that. It’s that her last name is Sparks. I’m kidding. It’s Sharp, and maybe she is, sharp that is.”

“What’s her first name?”

Lou laughed again.

“That’s why I think it’ll work. It’s Heloise.”

I shot him a nasty look.

“I was just kidding, Cy. It’s Jennifer, as in Garner
and Aniston.”

“Yeah, but those two are babes. What if this one’s
ugly?”

“Cy, have you ever met a Jennifer who was ugly?”

I thought for a moment and then admitted I hadn’t.

“Okay, I’ll go along with tomorrow, since you’re my
friend and I can tell this means a lot to you and Thelma Lou, but if I can’t
stand this Jennifer, I can see myself coming down with something on Sunday.”

Lou wanted to protest, tell me something like “it’s
only one weekend”, but he remained quiet and agreed.

“By the way, Lou, what do they have planned?”

“I don’t know, Cy. Thelma Lou said they’ll fill us in
when we get there on Saturday. We’re supposed to get there around 11:00 a.m. And it is both a day and night date.”

This time I gave him a look, but I kept my mouth
closed.

+++

After Lou had finished telling me about Thelma Lou’s
cousin and I agreed to go out with her, he gave me the okay to take off, and we
started off, headed out into the country to see Duck Spencer.

“By the way, Lou, what’s today’s message?”

“It’s no French kissing on the first date.”

“I’m serious here.”

“Wyatt Earp.”

“So, it’s a lawman that did it. But none of our
suspects are lawmen. I guess that narrows it down to you or George. Where were
you on the night of the reunion?”

“Out looking for a new best friend. And you?”

“Out on Thornapple River Road with Heather, showing
her how to do a stakeout. Now, back to the clue. Do you have any idea what it
means?”

He gave me the look he usually gave me when I asked
that question, then responded.

“Maybe we’re about to take a trip out west.”

“Maybe we’ll go back to my place for lunch and Google
Wyatt Earp. You know, Lou, sometimes I wonder how we were able to solve all
those murders before we found Google.”

+++

We turned into Duck Spencer’s driveway and changed
another person’s disposition. He looked up as we got out and left Lightning at
the front of the house. It looked like his next blow with the hammer was a tad
bit harder than the previous one.

“Back again, huh Lieutenant. What this time?”

“Oh, we thought it was a great day for a drive in the
country and decided to see how you’re doing.”

“I’m doing fine. Goodbye, Lieutenant.”

“Mr. Spencer, if everyone would cooperate a little
better we’d be through with this case a lot sooner. So, unless you have
something to hide, why don’t we be a little more cordial, so we can be on our
way?”

“Fine.”

“Mr. Spencer, we just found out that you were expelled
from County High after fighting with Jimmy Conkwright.”

“I told you that when you was here afore.”

“But what we learned is that it happened twice and the
second time you weren’t allowed back at school. You didn’t quit, Mr. Spencer.
You weren’t allowed to return to school.”

“So?”

“From what I understand, you weren’t too happy with
that. When Hilldale High wouldn’t accept you and your parents refused to let
you go to an out-of-the-county school, you had to go to work, and from what I
hear, you weren’t too pleased with the jobs you were able to get.”

“That’s true. But it mighta been the best thing that
ever happened to me. I ended up findin’ a job at a body shop, lovin’ the work,
and now I’ve got me my own body shop. I might notta  been this happy if I
finished school.”

“But you had to hate Jimmy Conkwright.”

“You bet I hated him. That’s the only good thing about
all this. He’s dead. He’s not gonna cause no more trouble for nobody else.”

“So, did it feel good to kill him?”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask the killer that.”

“Are you saying you didn’t see him or your wife that
night?”

“That’s right! And that might be the second best thing
that happened to me, ’cause I ain’t a very good liar.”

“Oh, I beg to differ, Mr. Spencer. I think all of you
are very good liars. I just wonder if any of you are good at telling the
truth.”

I could see Spencer’s anger, but he made no move
toward us.

“Why don’t you git outa here and find out who murdered
my wife and that no good?”

“Do you have any idea who that is?”

“Not a one.”

I couldn’t think of anything else to question Spencer
about at that time. So, I bid him goodbye, told him we might be back. He didn’t
appear to be too pleased.

+++

“Well, Lou?”

“I don’t have any idea if he did it or not, but if so,
I think we know what his motive was.”

With a guy like Jimmy Conkwright, it was easy to see
what someone’s motive was. It was merely a matter of figuring out which one of
those people who wanted him dead did something about it. We mulled it over silently
as we headed back to town.

+++

“I’m Cy Dekker. This is Lou Murdock. We’re here to see
Lee Goodwin.”

“Are you expected?”

“No, but we’re here on police business.”

I took out my credentials as I spoke.

“Just a moment, please.”

The receptionist got up from her desk and walked to a
nearby door and knocked. A couple of minutes later, she returned, followed by
another woman, a well-built, well-dressed woman. One look at her made me wonder
if she got her position because she could type, or for other reasons.

The second woman led us into an office.

“Have a seat, gentlemen.”

Lou and I took a seat in front of the desk. The young
woman sat down behind it. I continued to look at the bombshell in front of me
while we waited for Mr. Goodwin to come in.

“Well, gentlemen. What can I do for you?”

“If it’s all the same with you, we’d rather wait for
Mr. Goodwin.”

She laughed.

“I don’t think my father will be coming.”

My puzzled look allowed her to embellish.

“I’m Lee Goodwin. Don’t worry. I get this all the
time. Some people don’t expect to find a woman lawyer.”

“I just assumed that with the name Lee, that Goodwin
was a man. You know, like Lee Majors.”

“Sometimes it’s a woman, like Lee Remick.”

I realized when I was out of my league and decided to
get on with business.

“Ms. Goodwin, we’re here about Jimmy Conkwright’s
will.”

“Someone from the department has already called about
it. We gave him all the information.”

“Oh, we know that, like who gets what. What I want to
know is how the two that inherited reacted when you told them.”

“I’m not a mind reader, Lieutenant.”

“But could you tell if either of them seemed to know
if they inherited before they arrived?”

“Not really. Lieutenant, I won’t testify to this in a
court of law, but I’ll give you my gut feeling. If either Miss Calvert or Mr.
Gibbons knew they were inheriting a lot of money before they showed up, I’d
have to call them good actors. I did kind of get the idea from watching them
that it was sort of like watching their mother-in-law drive over a cliff in
their new car, only in reverse. I don’t think either of them felt saddened by
Conkwright’s demise.”

We talked a little more, but I felt like we’d gotten
as much as we were going to get. I thanked her for her time, apologized again
for thinking she was a man, and Lou and I got up to leave.

+++

As soon as we returned to Lightning and buckled up,
Lou turned to me and grinned.

“What?”

“Sometimes, Cy, I’m glad I’m not the one who does all
the talking.”

“Lou, could you do me a favor? Could you check with
Thelma Lou and see if Lee Goodwin is also her cousin?”

Lou grinned again.

It was a little before noon when Lightning eased into the driveway. It was time for lunch and to Google Wyatt Earp. In the past, lunch
at my place meant Strombolis, and French fries with lots of gravy, delivered by
Antonio’s. I tried to dismiss that thought. Otherwise, there was no way I’d
enjoy what I was going to fix us for lunch. Sometimes losing weight is not all
it’s cut out to be.

+++

Lou and I enjoyed lunch. Conversation made it more
palatable. Our conversation consisted of talking about Wii Fit and how much
weight we’d lost. Lou had lost close to fifty pounds. I was gaining on him, but
from a distance. When I weighed that morning, my Wii Fit told me I’d lost
fifteen pounds so far. A long way from fifty, but a beginning. Of course all of
that meant that I had to work a little harder getting dressed each morning. I
had to yank on my belt until I got to the next notch. I wondered if the Wii would
let me count that as strength training.

+++

I turned on the computer, and clicked on my favorite
of My Favorites, Google. I typed in the words “Wyatt Earp” and Lou and I
perused the material. After fifteen minutes of looking, we sat back and
silently mulled over what we’d read. When I gave the sign, it was time to
compare mental notes.

“What do you think, Lou?”

“The only thing I saw that stood out was that after
Wyatt Earp left Dodge City, Kansas he moved on to Tombstone, Arizona. I was
wondering if we should be looking at someone’s tombstone.”

“I was thinking the same thing, Lou, and my someone is
that Van Meter girl. I hope one of those people we talk to later today is
related to her. Maybe they can tell us where she’s from and what brought her to
Hilldale. From everything anyone’s telling us, she seemed to appear out of
nowhere, and didn’t even live where she said she lived.”

+++

I looked at my watch. It was only 2:46. I remembered we couldn’t locate either Van Meter when we tried to call them during the day, so
we’d wait until after they got off work to call on them. We had some time to
spare, and I came up with a brilliant idea.

“Hey, Lou, we’ve got some extra time. How about if I
Google Jennifer Sharp and see what I can find out about her?”

“You just want to know what she looks like, Cy. You’ll
find out soon enough.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. I want to be prepared for
this. What if she’s as ugly as a one-hundred-year-old outhouse? It won’t look
good if I get there and react to it, because she’s so butt ugly. Besides, if
she looks okay, it might be better if I can find out what she’s interested in.
I could find out, then bone up on her interests, and make a good impression.”

“Just keep calm, Cy. Tomorrow will be soon enough.”

“It might be too soon.”

“You don’t think that Thelma Lou would fix you up with
an ugly woman, do you?”

“Not unless she’s trying to help her cousin’s self
esteem, and she thinks I’m butt ugly, too.”

“Cy, I’ve never thought of you as ugly. Just as
someone most women wouldn’t be interested in, and that has nothing to do with
your looks.”

I wasn’t about to ask him what it had to do with.
Instead, I thought of ways to get even with Lou in case Cousin Jennifer looked
better with a bag over her head.

+++

We wiled away the afternoon, then decided to chance it
and see if either of the Van Meter families was at home. Lightning seemed eager
to leave the house. Was this a good sign, or had my neighbor and her varmint
been sticking their tongues out at her, too?

We arrived at the first of the two Van Meter
residences, but saw no cars in the driveway, and no garage. It looked like we
were too early, but since we were there, we got out, sidled up to the front
door, and knocked. A welcomed blast of cool air hit me in the face as an elderly
woman opened the front door.

I held out my credentials before she could close the
door.

“So, you’re police officers. I don’t have too many
policemen calling on me. What can I do for you?”

“Are you Mrs. Van Meter?”

“I am. Am I under arrest?” she asked, and then laughed.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have enough evidence to
arrest you yet, but I do have a question for you. Were you related to Miriam
Van Meter?”

“You said ‘were’ did Cousin Miriam die?” She grabbed
the door facing and her jovial manner left her face.

“The Miriam I’m talking about died a long time ago.
Twenty years to be exact. Maybe she was named for your cousin. She was only in
high school at the time.”

Mrs. Van Meter breathed a sigh of relief.

“I don’t know any other Miriam Van Meters. My cousin
lives just outside Pittsburgh. I assume that’s not the same one.”

“No, this one lived here, died in a car wreck twenty
years ago.”

“I’ve only been here for fifteen years. My husband was
transferred here and then died shortly thereafter. I decided not to move back
home, although I did give it a lot of thought. I’ve enjoyed it here.”

“Do you know a Robert Van Meter over on Gimlet Place?”

“That’s my son. What do you want him for?”

“Nothing, now that we know he wasn’t related to
Miriam, either. We had hoped that we could find some of Miriam’s family.”

“You waited a long time to look for them, didn’t you,
considering she died twenty years ago?”

“She wasn’t a motive for murder twenty years ago.”

“Oh, so that’s it. I thought you said she died in a
car wreck.”

“That’s right! Drunk driver.”

“Seems like someone’s waited a long time to get
revenge.”

“Probably too long. More than likely her death is a
dead end. But we have to check out all of our leads.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you gentlemen.”

I thanked Mrs. Van Meter, and Lou and I turned away.
On the surface, the two murders didn’t look premeditated, but then there is
always the possibility that someone had carried a grudge a long time. At any
rate, the line of people who wished Jimmy Conkwright dead was a long one, the
line of mourners non-existent.

+++

I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I wasn’t
through looking at Miriam Van Meter, but any place I needed to check would be
closed until Monday. That was okay. Maybe my blind date would keep my mind off
the case until then. On Monday morning, I would call Sam, and maybe Lou and I
would look for that tombstone. I’d have Sam check out of town possibilities
first, then check in Hilldale, in case we were no closer to finding out all
about Miriam Van Meter.

+++

The Van Meter excursion didn’t take long, so I
followed the only lead I had left, another visit with Rose Ellen Calvert.

“Lieutenant, if you show up any more I might start
charging you rent.”

“Sorry, I just have to clear up something. This won’t
take long. Miss Calvert, you said you went to the kitchen only one time. We
have a witness that says they saw you coming out of the kitchen after
Conkwright and Mrs. Spencer were thrown out for being drunk.”

“I thought I said I couldn’t remember whether or not I
went back to the kitchen. Now that you mention it, I remember going back to the
kitchen a second time.”

“And what was the inspiration for this second trip?”

“I overheard someone say something about Jimmy and
Betty Gail heading toward the parking lot. This was after the guys threw Jimmy
out for being drunk. I waited about fifteen minutes, and then I made an excuse
of going to the restroom and rushed down to the kitchen to look out the door. I
was curious as to whether they’d gotten in their cars and left.”

“And what did you see when you opened the door?”

“They were still there, only this time they looked up
and saw me watching them. Jimmy Conkwright, who was in a drunken stupor by this
time, stumbled toward the school, toward the kitchen door where I was standing.
I was scared of what he might do. He was always making smart remarks about me
when we were in school. I wondered what he’d do to me if he got me alone, with
him being drunk and all. When I saw him heading toward me, I took off running.
I didn’t even take time to close the door. On the way out of the kitchen I saw
Jim Bob. I bet he’s the one who told you he saw me coming out of the kitchen.
I’m sure I was a frightful mess at the time. Anyway, I said, ‘excuse me,’
brushed past him, and hurried back to the cafeteria.”

“And did Jim Bob Gibbons go into the kitchen to see
what frightened you?”

“I have no idea. I didn’t look back. I was too
scared.”

“Anything else, Miss Calvert?”

“Only that I was surprised when Jimmy didn’t come
charging back into the cafeteria. I guess he was afraid of what the guys would
do to him.”

Lou and I had to put our game faces on when we talked
to Rose Ellen Calvert, because we both remembered Silent Lou the last time we
visited. On this, our third visit with her, I noticed that from time to time,
even though I was the one questioning her, she turned to look at Lou. Maybe she
wanted to be looking at him if I happened to mess up. Finally, she could
control herself no more, and spoke to Lou.

“Sir, do you have any questions for me?”

“Ooga wong bowie zulu dong.”

She was surprised at the words that sprang from Lou’s
mouth. She wasn’t the only one. I refrained from looking at Lou, because I knew
if I did I wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face. After a few moments, she
turned to me.

“What did he say?”

“I assume this means that you don’t speak Swahili.”

“Swahili? But he’s a white man.”

“That’s the reason he’s here.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Miss Calvert, this is Little Chief Kabonga. He was
supposed to become the Chief of the tribe after the tiger came into the camp,
entered their tepee, and ate his father, the Big Chief. But the Witch Doctor of
the village wouldn’t allow him to become Chief. See, he was the white sheep of
his family, and tribal law says that no white man can become Chief, but must be
boiled in a pot instead. After dark, on the day before his pot-boiling
experience, his mother put him in a canoe and pushed him downstream, trusting
the gods to save him. He fell asleep, and the next thing he remembered was
arriving in Jamestown, Virginia. When he arrived there, they asked him his
name, and he said, ‘Little Chief Kabonga.’ He spent the next three months in a
sanitarium, until the doctors realized that he wasn’t crazy. When he was
released and adopted by a white family, all he remembered was that one day he
was supposed to be Chief. That’s why today, he’s a cop, and some day he hopes
to become Chief of Police.”

“You are kidding, aren’t you, Lieutenant.”

 “Miss Calvert, we wouldn’t kid about such grave
matters. We are merely thankful that Little Chief didn’t see his father being
eaten by that tiger.”

“Are you sure he doesn’t remember?”

“Very sure, Miss Calvert. He smiled the first time I
showed him a box of Frosted Flakes. He would have run or lashed out at that box
if he had remembered that terrible night.”

“I guess he would at that. But do you think he will
ever become Chief of Police without knowing the language?”

“Only God knows what the future holds. But enough
about Little Chief. If that is all, Miss Calvert, we have other people to question.”

“I understand, Lieutenant. I’m sorry to have kept
you.”

+++

Again, we were able to drive away before bursting into
laughter.

“Cy, I like it when you call me Chief.”

“I didn’t call you Chief. I called you Little Chief.”

“But in this country I can become Big Chief.”

“Lou Murdock, Big Chief of Boloney.”

“Jealous. By the way, do you think she was dumb enough
to believe you?”

“I hope not. If she was, we might want to scratch her
off our list.”

“Why, Cy? Dumb people commit murders, too.”

I tried to focus on the case instead of our ruse.
Finally, someone had narrowed down the time of the murders, provided Rose Ellen
Calvert was telling the truth.

+++

Lou and I purposefully saved our leftovers from
Burkman’s until dinner, just in case we had something worth talking about. I
felt that was finally the case, and since neither of us minded the other
talking with his mouth full, we talked all the way through dinner. However, we
didn’t wait until dinner to get started. As soon as Lightning lurched off down
the street, I opened my mouth.