Penny’s computer pinged announcing a new message. Penny opened it. Mike made a few changes to her motion, but nothing that she had to argue about. She sent the final copy to the printer. Judge Sanford still didn’t have e-filing. He thought it was a little too “iffy;” he didn’t have faith that things sent over the air could be accurate or safe. So, Penny put on her coat, put several copies of the order in her briefcase and left the office to walk across the street to the courthouse. Stepping out the alley door to her office building, she saw a soft snow was coming down, a remnant of the storm from last night. She was glad she had thought to put on her boots.

  When she entered the court house, she saw it was brimming with people, going about their business with the county—one man, sitting on the bench in the hall, his old Golden Retriever at his feet, could be heard saying, “I don’t know why dog licenses are so expensive. Look at him; does he look like he needs a license to exist?” No one seemed to have an answer.

  As Penny opened the door to Judge Sanford’s office, she shivered with a chill as if the storm outside had entered the room. She wondered how Julie, his long faithful secretary, managed but then remembered that she was the mother of five boys so she probably was well able to deal with one judge. Julie looked up, took the order and said, “Wait here, Penny, I’ll take it to him for his signature. He’s not that busy right now.”

  A few minutes, she bustled out of the office, motioning Penny to go into his office.

  “I’m not happy about this,” Judge Sanford began. He looked up, his dark eyes narrowed. “I’ll go along with it but you tell Mike that I still want to see the questions two days before the trial begins. I’m adding that line to the order, then I’ll sign it.”

  “Thank-you, your honor,” Penny said. “I’ll send a copy to Mike.” She turned and left his office and went on out of the courthouse, relieved to get out into the relative warmth of the outdoors. She knew the Judge didn’t like anyone to question his authority in his courtroom. But at least Mike was with her on this one.

  “Penny,” said a voice. Turning to the sound Penny saw the substantial frame of Detective Dan. “I have the results of the blood spots if you have a minute.”

  “Of course,” Penny said, “Let’s go back to the office and get out of this weather.”

  When the two of them walked into the office at the top of the stairway, Althea was coming out of the little closet that served as a kitchen and copy room. The room smelled like peanut butter cookies. “You’re just in time,” she said, “These cookies are from the Deli—Andrea brought them up—they were just baked and are still warm. I made fresh coffee. Kyle will be here shortly—I sent him a text when I saw the two of you coming from the courthouse. It is handy having an office that faces the courthouse, isn’t it?”

  Kyle and Percy came into the office waiting for the others to get their coffee and head for the conference table in Penny’s office. Percy, after giving JD a rub to leave his scent so other cats would know this dog belonged to him, found his spot on the window sill. Kyle, coffee and cookie in hand, joined the three others at the table. Dan looked up from brushing cookie crumbs off his comfortable front to see six eyes staring at him.

  “What?” he asked, grinning. “I take it you want to know what this report says.”

  “Yes,” they said in unison.

  “In a nutshell, the blood on the money matches Dick’s. That fact tells me that the money was in the same room as Dick when he was murdered, but …”

  “Who did Randy say gave him the money?” Penny interrupted.

  “He thought it came from Luther Rahn, but he couldn’t be absolutely sure since he sold two motorcycles the day he got that money. One to Luther and he took a $5000 deposit in cash from a Claude Black. I checked Black out. He’s a biker who comes up with money but doesn’t have a job of any sort. But he doesn’t seem to have a record.”

  “So, the bloody money could have come from either one of them?” asked Althea.

  “I think so,” Dan said.

  “What was the grease on the money?” Kyle asked.

  “Turkey fat,” Dan answered.

  “Turkey fat?”

  “Yes, and I found Luther this morning and asked him about it. He denied knowing anything about the blood on the money but admitted that he stored money in a frozen turkey in his mother’s freezer. He said he had been saving it up over time, sending it to his mother and telling her to put it in the turkey. He was adamant that it was not from the bank robbery that sent him to prison.”

  In the midst of the laughter, Althea said, “It’s a good thing Mrs. Rahn didn’t decide to cook that bird.”

  “Did you find Claude?”

  “Yes,” Dan said, “he gave me an alibi for the night of Boswick’s murder that I have to check out.”

  “What does Mike say about all this?” Penny asked, staring at Dan.

  “He says it has nothing to do with anything. He wants to ignore the whole thing.” Dan said, “That’s why I’m bringing it to you. He would not be happy with me if he knew.”

  “No reason for him to know,” Penny said. “It was a private lab. And we paid for it. If I want to use it in court, I’ll have to give him a copy, but I’ll worry about that later.”

  “Not to change the topic, but did you get a report on the fingerprints from my car blowing up?”

  “Yes, here it is. It says there wasn’t enough of a fingerprint to get a match, but there was a handprint that was clear. The good news it didn’t match Horace but they had nothing else to compare it with so they couldn’t get a match.”

  “Well,” Penny mused, leaning back in her chair, “that’s something.”

  “Do you want me to track down that Claude Black?” Kyle asked Penny.

  “No, I don’t think he had anything to do with Dick’s death. Dan, will you check his alibi? And, Kyle, I would like to know if the serial numbers on the money Victor took out of the bank to pay Dick a bribe match the ones with the blood. Can you check that for me?”

  “Will do,” Kyle said, making a note in his trusty notebook. “I can contact Hiram, I am pretty sure that when that much is taken out of the bank, they keep a record of the bills. Should be pretty easy to check. I think Victor is in for a bit of trouble.”

  “Gordon will take care of him,” Penny said.

  Dan watched and listened to the conversation, pleased that they were going on with the investigation but concerned that they might get in trouble. He was especially concerned about Althea’s group.

  “Althea,” he said, “What is that book club of yours doing? They could get themselves in trouble. Let the professionals handle this.”

  Althea nodded at Dan, “Don’t worry, Dan, we’re careful.”

  The group broke up. Kyle on his way to check on the serial numbers of the money, Dan to find Claude Black’s alibi witness to be sure they could rule him out. Claude was a strange one and Dan was a curious fellow.

  Althea, deep in her own thoughts, filled the little sink with warm soapy water and washed the dishes. After placing the last dish in the cupboard, she went back to her desk to close down for the night.

  Penny came out of her office, “I think it is time to close up. It sure gets dark early now that the time has changed. I can’t seem to get used to that.”

  Both women bundled up to go out in the cold. Even JD had a coat to wear that kept the snow off his back. He also had some boots that he didn’t like to wear, however, Penny insisted when there was a lot of salt on the sidewalks. Licking the salt could make him sick. Penny was the last to leave turning out the lights, locking the door and setting the alarm.

  Althea headed for the bookstore. Her group was straggling in as she walked in the door. Seeing that they were getting sandwiches from the Deli, she did the same, joining the group while she waited for her order.

  Sensing the tension coming from the group, she smiled at each. Rose was the first to speak up.

  “I spoke to all the people on our list of possible suspects and they all have an alibi. I don’t think any of them had anything to do with Dick’s murder. I’ll say that none of them were sorry to see him gone—they didn’t want him dead—they just wanted him out of office.”

  “I don’t understand why none of them complained,” Mary said. “I’m sure the Commissioners would have listened. And they could have told Mike. He would have a duty to investigate.”

  “I think they didn’t want to cause any trouble,” Rose said. “And Dick had them all convinced that he had the power to put them out of business if they complained.”

  The group shook their heads in unison. For a group of doers, it was hard to understand non-doers.

  “Okay,” said Rose, “it looks like we are left with the original three. We are sure Horace didn’t do it and Victor admits he was there and gave a bribe, but I don’t think he is a murderer. So, we are left with Fiona. And we have no evidence that she was even at the concert much less at Dick’s office.”

  “What about that Luther Rahn? Did anyone see him there?” Arney asked.

  They pondered that. “Well, Rose said, “we are pretty sure he was the one looking up explosives at the Library and Penny’s car was blown up, probably by someone who didn’t want her investigating Dick’s murder. He says that he was looking up the information for a customer at the Lumber yard, but I do wonder.”

  “But, what is his motive for killing Dick? He didn’t even know him.” Althea asked. “But do you think he could be a hired killer? Do you think that is possible? And, who hired him?”

  “Of course, it is. But how do we connect him to the murder?” After pondering that question, the group disbanded with no answer.

  In the meantime, the subject of their inquiry, Luther, was pushing his motorcycle through the gears. He loved the feel of the powerful bike between his thighs, the rush of adrenalin as he glided around the curves. The roads were clear, the day of sun had dried them off, the November sun was setting and he cruised along. He was planning to meet Fiona in an hour to get the rest of his money and then he would be out of this lousy little town and its lousy small-minded people. He was sick of all of it. He would cruise down to Florida—maybe the Keys—for sun, surf, chicks and booze, lots of chicks and booze.

  Luther, intent on the road ahead of him, didn’t notice the car behind him. With its lights off, it was like a ghostly presence, one not seen. He could see the curve ahead, a long-left hand bend with snow-covered fields on either side. He hunkered down, ready to flow with the bike as it started into the turn when he felt the push. The bike began to skid. He tensed, grabbed the handlebars, saw the tree coming and tried to straighten the bike out. It wasn’t to be. The bike hit the tree at full speed. Luther flew in one direction, the bike in the other, bursting into flame as it landed.

  “You don’t threaten me,” said a voice. “No one threatens me.” Climbing out of the car, the figure went over to Luther lying motionless in the snow. Feeling for a pulse in Luther’s neck and finding none, the person walked away. The car moved back and forth over the tracks in the snow and then drove down the road.

  Chapter 23

  T he November morning was still struggling to get going when Althea opened the office door. She dashed to pick up the ringing phone.

  Listening to the voice on the phone, she stood still, her eyes wide, then she grabbed the legal pad and pen always in the corner of her desk to take notes.

  “Was it an accident?” she asked Dan Dunlap who had called with the news of Luther’s death.

  “It sure looks like it,” he said. There were skid marks and then the bike went head first into the tree. It looks like Luther was thrown off the bike. We’ll have to wait for the coroner; it looks like he broke his neck when he landed. He didn’t wear a helmet, but I’m not sure that would have saved him.”

  Althea thanked Dan for calling, hung up the phone and sat down in her chair, still holding the pen in her hand.

  “What’s wrong?” Penny asked.

  Althea jumped. “Oh, my goodness, I didn’t hear you come in. I have news, but I’m not sure what it means. Luther Rahn was killed in an accident last night.”

  Penny stared at Althea. Kyle burst in the door.

  “Did you hear the news about …” he started then stopped when he saw their faces. “I see you did.”

  Penny nodded. “Let’s talk about this.”

  Coffees in hand, the three sat down at the small conference table.

  “Assuming it was an accident, it means nothing to our case,” Kyle started, “although the serial numbers on the money matched some of the numbers on the bills we sent to the lab.”

  “If that’s so, that means that Luther was at the crime scene since we know at least some of those bills came from the money Victor paid to Dick. And we could argue that the only way that Luther could have the money is if he took it from Dick.”

  “I still don’t see what motive Luther would have to kill Dick,” Penny said. “But at least it will raise reasonable doubt at the trial. I can add Victor to the witness list but he can take the 5th and get out of testifying. Randy, Arney, Dan, the lab technician, someone from the bank to testify about the numbers to establish the change of evidence for the bills. That could add another day to the trial. Judge Sanford will not be happy. I better get to work. I have to let Mike know this development and he will object to the evidence so we will probably have to argue about it before the Judge.” Penny rose to go to her desk.

  Althea said to Kyle as they were taking their cups to the little kitchen, “Do you think Luther Rahn could have killed Dick? And, if so, why?”

  “Luther has a violent record,” Kyle said. “I think he would have done anything for money.”

  The two stared at each other. They parted without a word each deep in thought.

  “There is no way Luther Rahn had anything to do with Dick’s death,” said Mike, roaring in Penny’s ear. “And there is no way I’ll let all the information get before a jury. And I know the Judge will agree with me. He doesn’t want this trial, which will create a lot of publicity, to turn into a three-ring circus.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Penny answered. “I’ll get an emergency motion in front of the Judge as soon as possible.”

  “Go ahead,” Mike answered. “You’ll lose.” He hung up in Penny’s ear.

  Penny booted up her computer, found the form for a motion to admit evidence and started to assemble the facts she would need to win the argument. Mike was right about the Judge—he would not let in evidence that was extraneous and too far from the facts of the case and would cause the trial to drag out.

  She started to think about the series of events and how they could relate and support each other.

  Just before 5 o’clock Penny finished her motion. She dashed over the courthouse to file it and deliver a copy to Mike’s office. The Judge denied her request for a hearing on the motion, saying he could decide the issue based on the briefs. Penny didn’t hold out much hope that Judge Sanford would let the evidence in; he didn’t like last minute changes.

  On her way across the street back to her office she saw Althea heading for the bookstore to meet with the Society. I certainly hope they come up with something, she thought. I think I need a miracle about now.

  After everyone had their coffees and snacks, Althea filled the group in on Luther’s death. Mary jumped in; “I heard rumors that the police think Luther’s “accident” was not an accident after all. According to the courthouse grape vine, Detective Dan thinks it might have been murder. There was a dent on the rear fender of the bike that did not fit with the accident theory. He thinks maybe Luther was pushed into the tree. Dan has asked his accident expert to reconstruct the event.”

  “That is really interesting,” Althea said. “Who has a motive to murder Luther and is it connected to Dick’s murder?”

  “I think it is,” Arney said. “If we assume that Luther killed Dick, we have to figure out his motive since he had no reason that I can think of to do that. But, Luther wanted money, and I think he was paid to do it and I think whoever paid him, decided he was a liability and shoved him off the road.”

  After some discussion, the group decided that was a viable theory and they also had an idea of who the killer might be. Althea said she would talk to Penny in the morning and see what she thought.

  Chapter 24

  A s the trial date approached, Penny spent more and more time at her desk. She had her trial notebook organized into sections beginning with the questions for the jury and ending with a few notes for her closing statement. Horace came by often to check on progress, getting more and more nervous as the day approached. Penny didn’t want to admit it, but she was nervous, too. This was her first murder trial, in fact, her first week-long trial and she was worried that she would let her client down.

  JD and Althea sensed the tension in the office and left Penny pretty much alone to work out the kinks. However, on this morning, Althea needed to speak to Penny about the meeting the night before. Just as she was about to knock quietly on Penny’s closed office door, Ethan came in with dog, Toby, in tow.

  Ethan had a big envelope in his hand. He handed the envelope with a triumphant smile spreading across his ruddy face. While JD and Toby greeted each other as dogs do, he opened the envelope, pulling out three pictures and placing them on Althea’s desk.

  “I found what I am sure are pictures of Horace from the night of the concert. My camera prints the date and time on the pictures so I know they came from that night. I didn’t stay at the concert as I told Penny. I didn’t really like the band that night so I wandered around taking pictures trying to capture the evening light.

  “When I do that I don’t pay much attention to people, but I do get some in my nature shots. Anyway, isn’t this Horace in the background?” he asked pointing at the first of the pictures.

 

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