Mystery at the Fair

  "Uh, I do appreciate that you bring me these bits of information. An investigator never knows where the key piece of info will come from."

  "You're welcome," she said, though the words sounded as though they had been dipped in ice. She turned and left, annoyed that he'd blown her off again.

  Two minutes later Jean slammed into the chair next to Karen. "He did it again."

  "Who did what?" Karen put her cross-stitch down in her lap.

  "Chief White. I just told him about Tyler and Analise and how she behaved all morning and he acted as though the info was useless." Jean yanked down on the front hem of her blouse to straighten it out.

  Karen smoothed her piece of work. "It all may be nothing, you know that, Jean."

  "Maybe," Jean snapped. "But he doesn't need to act as though I'm wasting his time."

  A nod was the only response. Jean stewed for a minute. "I think, after we close up for the night, we follow Analise out of here and see where she goes. She was annoyed with me at lunch time. Maybe it's enough to goad her into making a mistake."

  Karen's eyebrow arched. "Nine o'clock at night? Go snooping around behind Analise? Don't you think she'll go straight home?"

  "Not if she has something to hide." Jean sat forward on her chair and faced her friend. "Look, if she really is involved in Ina's disappearance, she's going to want to cover up whatever loose ends are out there. I know I hit a nerve with her."

  "Sure, why not. But how are we going to follow her when you have to lock up?" She nodded at Officer Williams who was sitting in Jean's usual chair, chatting with a couple. "And what about him and the night shift? They're going to follow you around."

  "Crap, I forgot about them." She stared at Tom. He was going to get off at seven tonight and meet his family at the gate for a Saturday night out at the fair. "Maybe I can slip the leash."

  "How are you going to do that?"

  "I'll go home, you follow Analise. I'll slip out, hop the backyard neighbor's little fence and go through their yard to the next block. I can call a cab and join you wherever you are." She grinned at the thought of outfoxing her babysitter.

  "You look like a teenager about to sneak out of the house to meet her friends." Karen shook her head. "What if she goes way out of town?"

  "Then we'll drop the whole thing. You can't go by yourself."

  "Sounds shaky to me but yeah. Let's give it a try."

  Jean hooted, drawing Tom's attention. She waved to him that everything was all right.

  "You are incorrigible," Karen said with a laugh.

  "It's been awhile since I've been naughty," Jean giggled back at her. "It feels kinda good."

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Nick stewed all the way back to his office. Put your foot in it again, knothead. You could have been a little more enthusiastic about the news she gave you. You didn't know that Tyler had worked for Analise last winter. That's a good clue. You couldn't say so? He smacked the steering wheel. Now you've ticked her off again. He pulled into the parking lot of the police station and slammed on the brakes as he pulled into his assigned slot. For good measure he slammed the SUV door and mashed the automatic door lock button hard enough to make his finger hurt.

  Inside he nodded at the officer on duty behind the reception glass. Greta didn't work weekends so he had to unlock both the outer and inner doors to his office and, once inside, he tossed his hat on the hat rack and fell into his chair. Nick scrubbed his face with both hands. What do I do next? His brain whirled. I've got bupkis as far as a real clue goes. Josh Marlow would be my guess as murderer. He's been on the wrong side of the law quite a few times, but only small-time stuff, nothing close to a murder charge. But he is a war vet and had the training. Maybe he snapped or something.

  He made a note to ask about the investigation into Marlow's fellow cowhands, then swore under his breath. It was the weekend, nothing was going to turn up until at least Monday. He tipped back in his chair, the soft leather creaking with his weight. His conversation with Analise this morning made him suspicious of her, too. But that didn't make any sense. Arris had gone out with plenty of women since the divorce. Analise had never kicked up too much fuss about any of them. Why would she kill Ina?

  And what about Tyler Siddons? Nick didn't know of any trouble the young man had been in. He sat forward, turned on his computer and monitor and logged in. He pulled up the database and searched for Tyler Siddons. Nothing came up. There, he thought. No one goes from law abiding citizen to murderer without a very good reason. Still, there was the Analise and the Arris connections. Maybe he should call Tyler in for a chat.

  He picked up the phone and dialed the officer on duty at the reception desk. "Get someone to call Tyler Siddons in for questioning concerning the Ina Grange investigation, would you?" The officer said he'd get right on it and Nick hung up the phone.

  Nick spent a few minutes mulling over all of the different people involved in the investigation. He scratched at his chin. I wonder if there's a connection between Analise and Josh Marlow? Or between Marlow and Siddons? Maybe all three are involved somehow? He jotted some possible questions on a legal pad and resolved to stop by the fair and ask Analise a few more questions. He had a few for Marlow, too.

  Nick picked up the phone again. "Get someone to call Josh Marlow in for questioning on the same case." He listened for a minute. "No, I don't want them to see each other. Make sure they come in separately." Nick hung up.

  He tapped his fingers on the handset, then punched a speed-dial button.

  "Paul?"

  "Yeah, Nick."

  "You have anything on the collection agencies?"

  "Not yet. I've got calls in to four of them but it's the weekend. I probably won't hear back till Monday."

  Nick ran his free hand through his hair. "Yeah. I was afraid of that. Same with Marlow's cowhand buddies, I suppose?"

  "Yep. Sorry."

  "That's okay. I'm just sittin' here trying to sort all of these clues out."

  "Good luck with that. I finished talking to Ina's family. Ina's people knew about her gambling. They all said they tried to get her to go to Gambling Anonymous or to rehab but she refused to go. They were definitely suspicious of Arris. Called him a gigolo and were certain he was after her property. They admitted she was broke, so there's that."

  "Thanks, Paul. Do you have that whole part of the investigation in a report yet?"

  "Not yet. I'm in my garden, pulling weeds."

  "Okay," Nick sighed. "I'm looking forward to some more tomatoes."

  "I'll bring some in Monday. You should take the rest of the day off, Nick. Man, you work seven days a week."

  "After this murder is solved, buddy."

  #

  Two hours later the light for the reception desk lit up as the phone rang. Chief White stopped reviewing reports and picked it up. "Yeah."

  "Chief, we have Tyler Siddons in the interview room. Marlow isn't answering his cell but the ranch says he and the rest of the hands came into town mid-afternoon. I put a notice out to the patrols and I'll keep trying his number."

  "Thanks. Appreciate that." Chief White hung up the phone. He reviewed the questions on his pad on his way to the interview room. Tyler Siddons was sitting at the middle of the small table facing the door when Nick opened it up. He pulled out one of the chairs on the door side of the table and sat down.

  "Thanks for coming in, Tyler. I appreciate it."

  Tyler glanced up at the cameras, one in each corner of the room facing him. "Sure, Chief. What's this all about?"

  "You know about the Ina Grange murder?"

  "Sure." Tyler shrugged. "News is all over town."

  "We're trying to find out what happened and we're bringing a lot of people in, you know, to see if we can get it sorted out. Your name came up in a couple of interviews."

  Tyler's blue eyes got big. "Me? How'd my name come up?"

  "I was talking to Analise this morning. She said you worked for her last winter?"

  The
young man's face relaxed. "Yeah. Over the holidays I helped her with the catering, doing the scut work, peeling, chopping, carrying trays and doing deliveries. I've done that the last couple of years."

  Nick jotted a note and looked back up. "I heard you two got into an argument at the fairgrounds."

  Tyler sat forward. "She stiffed me a week's pay. She had a big party to cater in February, a wedding, and she called me for help. I did my thing, she said she'd pay me when she got paid." He snorted. "She still hasn't settled up. That's what we were arguing about." He sat back in the chair. "Analise is always doing crap like that."

  I told Jean that's probably what it was. He felt slightly vindicated as he took another note. "You know anything else about what Analise did all winter?"

  "I know she took off after the wedding on a cruise. Probably with my money," Tyler added with a bit of venom.

  "You don't know what she did between New Year's and the wedding?" Nick put on his friendliest face.

  "Nah, I was cuttin' wood up on the rim all of January for Nate Brown. We musta cleared an acre a day. The guy's a slave driver."

  Nick was disappointed. Tyler Siddons was turning into a dead end. "You know Josh Marlow?"

  Tyler shook his head. "I've seen him at a few of the dances, but he's a lot older. I don't hang with his crowd."

  Crap, Nick thought as he made one more note. I was hoping there'd be a connection between those two. He looked over his questions. This guy didn't seem to be a suspect. He stood up and held out his hand. "Thanks for coming by on a Saturday, Tyler. We're doing our best to clear up this thing. People get nervous about a murder in town."

  Tyler stood up and shook his hand. "Glad to help, Chief."

  Nick opened the door and stopped. "One more thing. Jean Hay's car was vandalized a couple of days ago. You know anything about that?

  Tyler stopped short before bumping into Nick. Eyes wide, he shook his head. "No. I heard Karen Carver talk about it a day or so ago."

  "Oh?" Nick closed the door. "What did Ms. Carver say?"

  Tyler wiped his hand down the front of his shirt. "Just that it happened and Ms. Hays wasn't hurt."

  "Anything else?" Nick deliberately stood close to Tyler, a trick he'd learned years ago.

  "They wondered if Josh Marlow was involved."

  "Really?" Nick nodded. "Go on."

  Tyler backed up a step. "Ms. Carver said you got rid of stalking charges from him, that's all."

  "I see. Did they speculate on anything else?"

  The young man shuffled his feet. "Well, they wondered if Josh killed Ms. Grange."

  "Uh huh. What do you think?"

  Tyler swallowed. "Like I said, I don't hang with his crew."

  "But?"

  "Well, the guy is kind of crazy."

  "Have you had a run-in with him before?"

  "I saw him, one night in a bar. It was crowded and a guy bumped into him. Spilled his beer. Marlow had the man up against the bar and a knife at his throat before anyone knew what was goin' on. He's a scary dude."

  "Hmm." Nick opened the door and walked Tyler to the reception door. "We appreciate the help, Tyler." He showed the young man out and closed the door. "Any word on Marlow?" he asked the officer at the desk.

  "Not yet, Chief. I'm still calling him every ten minutes. The phone isn't off, he just isn't answering."

  "Keep on it."

  "Yes, sir."

  Nick went back to his office and re-read his notes for the whole case. Even with Tyler's information on Marlow's temper, he was getting nowhere, fast.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Saturday afternoon went fast. A lot of people walked through the Exhibits building and conversations whirled around how to do this or that craft, how people could join various craft groups, and friends meeting friends in the aisles and having a chat. By eight that night, Jean was tired. She handed Karen a bottle of water; the building, despite the fans on high speed, was still stifling.

  "Thanks." Karen uncapped the water and drank half of it in one long swig. "My throat was dry from all of the talking I've been doing all day."

  Jean saluted her friend with her own bottle of water. I've decided to give John the keys to the building. He can lock up and we can leave on time and watch Analise."

  "Good plan. I was wondering how we were going to get out in time to catch her. We may have to stay in the parking lot awhile though. If she has customers, I don't think she's going to cut them off."

  "Oh, I hadn't thought of that. You're right." Jean sank down on the second chair in Homemaking Arts. "I've been thinking about Analise, Tyler, Arris and Ina all day. Everyone is connected. Josh Marlow, too, at least through Ina."

  "It's a small town, Jean. If you grew up here you know all of the old families."

  "I wonder if Josh knows Analise?"

  "He does. Josh and Analise were an item a couple of years ago. All the tongues were wagging over how she was dating a younger man. By the time Josh and Ina were an item, the novelty had worn off."

  Jean stared at her friend, mouth hanging open. "You never told me that."

  Karen stopped the bottle of water halfway to her mouth. "I didn't? Sorry. It's hard to remember you're new here and not up on all of the past gossip."

  "That may make a difference." Jean slumped back in her seat. "We were going at Josh all wrong, asking him about Ina. Maybe we should have been asking about Analise?"

  "Could be. If you pressed her hard enough, do you think she'd meet with Josh?"

  Jean stuck a finger up under the scarf and gently scratched her head wound. "We can hope so."

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Nick was just finishing up his reports when the desk officer came in. "The lab sent this to our printer, Chief." He passed his boss a handful of papers.

  "Thanks." Nick turned his desk light back on and sat down as the officer left.

  He read through the report fast, then went back to the first page and read it all again, taking in all of the information. When he finished, he flopped back in his desk chair. Marlow's fingerprints were on Jean's car from the slashed tires case. And we haven't found the guy all day. He rubbed his eyes. Too damn much paperwork, he mused. So, if Marlow slashed her tires, was he also the one who attacked her in the fair parking lot?

  He shook his head. There was no connection between the two crimes but who else would be angry enough at the woman to do those things? Where is this guy? He picked up the phone and called the desk.

  "I want Josh Marlow found for questioning on the slashed tires case. We're no longer just bringing him in for friendly questioning. I want him in here as soon as he's found." Nick listened to the officer's confirmation and hung up. He drummed his fingers on top of the fingerprint report. Marlow was looking more and more like a suspect but something wasn't right. He wished he could put a finger on what was bothering him about the case.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  The two women left the Exhibits building at 8:55 pm. "Here's what we'll do. I'll drive home," Jean told Karen in a whisper as they walked to the parking lot. Jean's night escort was twenty feet behind her. "You'll watch Analise. Call me on my cell as soon as you see her leave and stay on with me until you get to where she's going." They arrived at their cars. "I'll sneak out and get to you as soon as you've stopped."

  Karen nodded. "Okay." She looked past Jean as she gave her a hug. "The officer is getting into his car. I'll keep you posted."

  The women split up and Jean drove home. She fumbled in the rental car for the light switch. "I'll be glad when I get my own car back," she grumbled when she finally found the switch. I hope it doesn't rain before then, I'll never be able to find the wipers. The drive home was uneventful. She pulled into the carport and saw the officer park on the other side of the street and turn off his lights. Jean hadn't said more than hello to the young man since her police escort had been put on her. She imagined it must be boring as hell to sit there all night in the dark without even a book to read.

  In the ho
use she turned on the living room light and the bedroom light. Karen called. "Analise has come out of the fair and got in her car. I'm following her right now."

  "Thanks, Karen. Any idea where she's headed?"

  "Not yet, but I don't know where she lives so we could be wrong and the woman is just going home."

  Jean set the cell phone on the bathroom sink counter and splashed her face. It felt good to get the heat, sweat and dust of the day off of her skin. She picked up the phone. "Can I grab something from the fridge for a snack for you?"

  "A cold cola would be good, if you have any."

  "I think I have some from the night I had you and the girls over for dinner. I'll look."

  Jean went downstairs and turned on the kitchen light. Way in the back, on the bottom shelf, she found a six-ounce can of cola. "Hey, I found you one," she said into the cell phone.

  "Good. A little shot of caffeine will help me stay awake. Nothing to report yet except we're headed into the southwest corner of town. It's all residential over here. I think she's headed home."

  "She may be meeting someone at her house." Jean turned off the light in the kitchen and in the living room. Once in the bedroom she put the can of soda in her purse, then changed her mind. She walked over to her closet and began to rummage around on the shelf over the clothes pole. Ha, she cheered to herself. Gotcha. Jean pulled a small daypack down and took it to the dresser. She pulled wallet, the soda, a tiny flashlight and a pocket knife from her purse and put them in the daypack. Much better, now I'll have my hands free. She put the pack on her back and turned off the bedroom light. It took a couple of minutes for her eyes to adjust to the dark.

  She didn't want to use the flashlight, that would look suspicious to the cop stationed outside. In the living room she opened the sliding patio door and stepped out into the night. After she pulled it closed she realized there was no way to lock the door. She agonized for a moment, then shrugged. There was a cop watching her house. The house would probably be safe enough unlocked. At the back of her property she climbed over the rail fence that divided her neighbor's yard from hers. Moving along the right edge of the property, she made her way to the street on the next block.