Murder in the graveyard, p.18
Murder in the Graveyard, page 18
Freddie scrunched up her face at the reference. “I vaguely remember watching that with you. I hated your movie choice, as usual.” She squatted and started her search of his pockets, finding another small, folded piece of paper. She set it aside and continued to examine Elmer.
“Pretty gruesome way to go,” she said. She stood shaking her head. “Stabbed by a cemetery vase? Yikes.”
Making sure to keep her back to the ridge, she unfolded the piece of paper.
Grapevine Crk cem., 8 am
Re Buford
TM
She brought the first note out and unfolded it, and we compared them side by side.
“Same hand,” murmured Aunt Edna.
“Can’t say the writing looks particularly male or female,” I said. “But it looks like someone tricked these two into coming out here, then killed them both.”
“Agreed.” Freddie refolded the papers, pulled plastic evidence bags from her pocket and dropped each into its own bag. Then she tucked the bags into her coat pocket and pulled out her phone. She tapped in a message to her sergeant, Bob White, muttering the words as she typed them. “Check ridge before cemetery for vehicle slash person. Stealth.”
“We noticed before that there’s only one vehicle,” Aunt Edna said, nudging with her chin. “Elmer’s pickup truck.”
“Did you also notice there’s a shotgun in the gun rack?” I asked. It wasn’t too unusual to see out here in rural areas, but not nearly as common these days as it was when I was a kid.
“Certainly wasn’t a shotgun used on either one of them.” Freddie turned to look. “Well, let’s go check it out anyway.”
We skirted the crime scene and walked up the single cemetery roadway. When we got to the truck, she tried the door. Not surprisingly, it was unlocked. Out here in the country, a locked car or locked house was a rarity. Locks, it seemed, were only for city folk. (Though Aunt Edna and I had started locking the house after the first murder we dealt with.)
Freddie pulled the shotgun down from its rack and checked it.
“Loaded and everything.” She replaced it, then, using her phone flashlight, made a preliminary search of the truck cab. “Nothing obvious jumping out at me,” she said.
Aunt Edna and I stood and waited.
Freddie stepped back to close the door when her eyes suddenly narrowed. She pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures before leaning over and pulling something out from behind the seat.
“Well, looky what we got here,” she muttered. From her gloved index finger dangled a small handgun. She sniffed the barrel and shot a look at the ridgeline of trees. “Recently fired,” she murmured, mostly to herself. “And another flash of the binoculars or whatever is going on over there.”
Freddie bent back and replaced the handgun where she had found it. “Troy will need to check out the rest.”
Troy Barnes was the county’s forensics specialist and had given himself the moniker “Troy the Evidence Dude.” In his late twenties or early thirties and looking like Q from the new James Bond films, it fit him.
“It doesn’t make sense that there’s only one vehicle here,” I said. “How did Ted get out here?”
“Unless his vehicle is hidden over there,” said Aunt Edna, tipping her head toward the next ridge.
Freddie’s phone rang. “Frederickson,” she said in lieu of a greeting. “Hey Roxanne.” She listened for a moment. “Really. Well, that’s odd.” Another moment of listening. “Okay, thanks.”
She turned to Aunt Edna and me. “Well, we’ve had an anonymous tip that someone saw the two of you out here, stabbing Elmer to death with a fireplace poker.”
Aunt Edna’s eyebrows went into her hairline. “Well, you know that’s not true.”
“I do. But how about I make a show of searching your vehicle? For our audience?” She gestured toward our truck. “I think someone is trying to get us to leave, don’t you think? Thought I’d just scoop you up and take off.”
Aunt Edna and I exchanged a look.
“Someone’s never watched a cop show, like ever. The thing is literally sticking out of him,” Aunt Edna muttered. “But of course we can look at the truck, and you’ll find our murderous ‘fireplace poker.’” She used her fingers to make air quotes. “We had put the mallet, nail, and the last flags back into the bed of the truck while waiting for you to arrive.”
Freddie made a cursory glance into the back of the pickup, doing a double-take at the length of the nail we used to make the holes. “If I didn’t know you and what you were doing out here, this would be highly suspicious.” Freddie shook her head, then headed to the truck cab.
But instead of searching it, she bent and took a closer look at the ground. “There are tracks from another vehicle under here. These are different from Elmer’s truck, right?”
We bent to look. I looked at Aunt Edna, who had more experience with civilian tires than I did.
“Yes, I’d say a smaller vehicle. Either a car or a smaller truck,” said Aunt Edna. “Narrow tires, not to mention they’re almost bald.”
“What’s Ted drive?” I asked her.
“Big Dodge Ram. Enormous tires.” Aunt Edna studied the tracks, just barely dusted with tiny snowflakes. “Definitely didn’t make those.”
“Any sedans in Ted’s family?” I asked. “Someone who may have driven him here?”
Freddie studied the tracks a moment longer. “Why would someone in Ted’s family drive him here just to kill him?”
“Blame Elmer. Continue the feud.” Aunt Edna shrugged.
“Maybe someone was trying to end the feud,” I suggested. “I mean, with Ted and Elmer gone, are there any more in that generation? Any more to carry it on?”
Aunt Edna and Freddie looked at each other, thinking.
“I don’t think there would be any more men in their generation,” Aunt Edna said. “Just women, right?”
“I think so.” Freddie looked back at the tracks. “Would it be sexist to suggest a woman would drive a smaller vehicle than a giant truck like a man?”
“Yes.” Aunt Edna and I said sternly, and in unison.
Freddie laughed and turned to look at her own SUV. Granted, it was her county-owned police vehicle, but still, she drove it. “Just as sexist as implying that only men might continue a feud.” She winked.
Aunt Edna acknowledged her faux pas. “True.” She turned her back to the ridgeline. “Okay, so it’s a silly thing, but hear me out. Who would want the feud to be over?”
“Right,” I continued the theme. “Who benefits from the families getting along?”
Freddie shook her head. “I’m not sure. But on the other hand, why would these two men, supposedly killing each other, end anything? Wouldn’t it add fuel to the fire?”
“Unless they were the only ones keeping it burning these days.” Aunt Edna said. “And correct me if I’m making an assumption, but isn’t it pretty clear the two didn’t kill each other?”
I nodded. “One’s in a hole, the other stabbed. I suppose Ted could have stabbed Elmer, and Elmer shot Ted before expiring…”
Freddie picked up my thought. “But then how did the gun get back into the truck?”
Aunt Edna gasped. “Oh, good heavens. I just had a horrible thought.”
Freddie and I stared at her. “What?” I prompted.
Aunt Edna looked around nervously. “Goodness, the thought is making me get a hot flash.” She tugged at the neck of her turtleneck, then hurried to stand behind the small outbuilding where she was shielded from the ridge across the way. Though confused, Freddie and I followed.
“What if the murderer killed the two of them, and is lying in wait to kill the rest of the Hettsfords when they get here for the funeral? Long distance!” She gestured at the ridge.
Freddie picked it up immediately. “And that flash is not binoculars, but a sight on a rifle!” She whipped out her phone and speed-texted Sergeant White. “Proceed caution. May be armed. Turn back if there is someone there.” She sent the message and then dialed someone else. “Roxanne,” she spoke quickly into the phone. “I need to know when Buford Hettsford’s funeral is.”
Movement out on the road caught my eye, and I tapped Freddie’s arm. “I’d say now.”
***
The Hettsfords and other funeral attendees who were slowly approaching the cemetery in a short convoy of cars did not take kindly to being asked to wait. The funeral procession consisted of two cars and a hearse, which fit into the grassy area just inside the fence.
“This is a crime scene,” Freddie repeated for what felt like the thousandth time to a cranky old woman in the passenger seat of an old Cadillac.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” the woman exclaimed. “First Elmer not bothering to show for his own nephew’s funeral, and now this!”
Freddie looked closer at her but seemed to be drawing a blank. Aunt Edna stepped up and peered around Freddie, into the car.
“Anna Marie Hettsford,” she said to her. “I’m sorry to hear about your nephew, Buford.”
Anna Marie scowled. “It was certainly a Mackie that done it.”
Freddie stepped back and tipped her head. “I don’t think so. It was just some random guy in a prison fight.”
“Oh please,” the old woman interjected. “They paid someone. Now let us in to lay him to rest.”
A thought made me turn and glance at the ridgeline. Freddie caught my eye and raised an eyebrow.
I turned back to Anna Marie. “You and your brothers are the last of your generation, aren’t you, ma’am?”
Anna Marie scowled at me. She crossed herself before answering. “Yes. Why?”
“What about the Mackies? Who is left of them in your generation?” Freddie asked.
Anna Marie went to spit, then stopped herself because she was sitting in a car. “That no-good rascal Ted Mackie is it.”
The driver of the car cleared his throat. “Excuse me, but why is this relevant to whether or not we can bury my great-uncle?” The man looked to be in his thirties and very uncomfortable in his funeral suit.
“And you are?” Freddie bent to ask.
“Roman Hettsford.”
I exchanged a look with Aunt Edna, and she and I stepped away from the car.
There was a ding from Freddie’s phone, and she hurried away from the car, joining us. Her phone was in her hand. “Bob said there is a vehicle and he’s running the tags.”
“I’m guessing it belongs to a Mackie,” I said quietly. “And based on the size of the shoe prints, a female Mackie.”
Aunt Edna nodded thoughtfully.
“I agree,” Freddie shot a quick look around the edge of the outbuilding at the ridge, then returned her attention to her phone while she waited for Sergeant White’s response.
“I’m going to call rumor central.” Aunt Edna pulled out her phone. “I have a hunch.”
I watched as she dialed Becky’s Good Hair. Of course. Who else to ask about rumors but New Oslo’s salon owner, Becky Baker? My former classmate kept quite the pulse on everything going on in town.
Aunt Edna walked a few feet away, making sure to keep cover on this side of the outbuilding.
Freddie was scanning the area. “Who’s Aunt Edna calling?” she asked.
Before I could answer, a shot rang out. We both hit the ground. I looked for Aunt Edna, but she had flattened herself against the wall of the outbuilding and was slowly sliding to the ground. Thankfully, she gave me a thumbs up.
Freddie and I turned back to the Cadillac where Roman and his grandmother were staring back at us, wide-eyed.
“What in tarnation was that!” screeched Anna Marie.
Freddie and I began an Army low crawl toward them.
“Get down,” shouted Freddie. “Stay down, both of you!”
Roman remained sitting up, staring out his side window toward the ridge. “What was that?” he asked.
Other car doors began to open, as the confused and curious funeral attendees began to get out.
“No!” Freddie raised to a crouch, holding her badge in the air above her. “Everyone stay in their cars!” She tried to make eye contact with everyone. “Get in your cars and stay there! That’s an order!”
I crawled over to below Roman. He was muttering something and I strained to listen.
“What is she doing? This is not supposed to happen,” he muttered. “This was not the plan.”
Aunt Edna hurried over to us and stood behind me.
Freddie duckwalked over. “Edna, get down please.”
Aunt Edna shook her head. “I don’t think there’s any need.”
Freddie frowned up at her. Then her phone buzzed and she pulled it out. As soon as she read what was on the screen, she looked at me. “You were right. The car does belong to a Mackie.”
“Julie Mackie, if I had to make a guess,” said Aunt Edna.
“Yes,” said Freddie. “How’d you know?”
But instead of answering Freddie, Aunt Edna stared down at Roman. “She’s Roman’s girlfriend. Hettsford, did you and your girlfriend plot to kill your great uncles and grandma?”
I got to my feet. If Aunt Edna was right, we were not Julie’s target. “Anna Marie is the last of the generation,” I said to Roman, nodding to the old woman. “The last one standing between peace between your families.”
“The last one standing between you and Julie getting married,” added Aunt Edna.
“What’s that?” Anna Marie cupped an ear and leaned over. “What are you saying, Edna Harridan?”
Roman shook his head, still mumbling. “This was not supposed to happen. What did she do?”
“Aren’t you going to deny that your grandma’s the last of her generation?” Freddie asked. She waited a beat before going on. “Seems to me like you should. Or did you already know that Elmer and Ted are dead?”
Anna Marie gasped, her hearing suddenly better. “Elmer?”
Roman pushed the door of the Caddy open and stood slowly. He looked out over the fields between us and the next ridge. “Is she over there?” he asked.
We watched as a small figure emerged rapidly from the blind and disappeared into the woods behind it.
But a moment later, there was a scream. Freddie’s hand immediately went to her hip where her handgun was holstered and Aunt Edna and I semi-crouched.
Then the tiny figure came running out of the woods, still screaming. The bushes and trees behind her seemed alive, moving and shaking. Something was chasing her. Something large.
Curious, Aunt Edna and I straightened.
A split second later, a huge bull moose crashed out of the trees.
“Well, I’ll be,” murmured Aunt Edna.
“Magnus!” I laughed. “Magnus to the rescue again.” Once again, he was at the right place at the right time.
Magnus followed the woman at a trot as she ran, screaming, all the way to Sergeant White’s police vehicle. Bob simply opened the back door, and she threw herself in.
As soon as Sergeant White slammed the door, Magnus slowed to a walk.
Sergeant White hurried around to the other side of the vehicle to watch the moose move past. Magnus’ shoulders were even with the roof of the SUV, his enormous antlers as wide. He simply moseyed across the road and disappeared down the bank of the opposite side.
We had all been transfixed by the scene but now turned back to the present situation.
Freddie turned to Roman and waited for him to speak.
“We were giving them one last chance to let the feud go, but they wouldn’t listen. I told her we could just leave. There isn’t any reason to stay here.” said Roman. He hung his head. “But she said this was our home. She made some comments, but I didn’t think she’d really go through with it.”
“Mhm,” said Aunt Edna. “You expect us to believe you weren’t in on it?”
Roman’s face contorted, but he said nothing.
“Well, there’s this thing called forensic evidence,” Freddie said. “And we’ll get to the truth as to whether or not you knew or were involved.”
As if on cue, the forensics van from the county sheriff’s office pulled in, or at least tried to. The small parking area was already full and it didn’t help that the forensic van was followed by the coroner and three police cars.
Freddie led Roman away to her vehicle, putting him in the backseat before returning to us. “Not sure what all is going to happen with him next,” she told an aghast Anna Marie. “Possibly conspiracy to commit murder, or an accomplice to murder. Or he’s going to throw her under the bus and deny everything.” She studied the old woman. “I’d appreciate if you came in and gave a statement.”
Anna Marie sat still, slumped in her car, her face pale. “You mean to say my grandson…” We all waited for her to finish her sentence. I fully expected it to be killed my brother?
But old grudges die harder than old men.
Anna Marie lifted her gaze from her hands and stared across the cemetery before continuing. “My grandson…was dating a Mackie?!”
Aunt Edna threw her hands in the air and turned around while Freddie and I made eye contact. Incredible.
Aunt Edna spun back around and stuck her head in the driver’s side window of the Caddy. “Anna Marie, you listen here. My mother used to say this to me, and you need to hear it. It goes the first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest.” She stood and crossed her arms. “Which are you gonna be?”
Anna Marie stared back at her, her mouth working and her hands twisting in her lap. “I don’t deserve none of those.”
“You can try,” I said.
Freddie leaned her forearms on the edge of the driver’s side window frame.
Anna Marie looked up at Freddie. “Was she gonna kill me too?”
Freddie pursed her lips. “It looks that way.”
“She killed Elmer, killed Ted, were going to kill me. Because she thought it was the only way to stop the feud?”
“I don’t know, ma’am. We’ve got a lot of questions for everyone. We’ll just have to see what they say about all of it. I’m not sure how she thought they’d get away with this.”
Troy Barnes had climbed down out of his forensics van and hurried over to Freddie, followed closely by the coroner van techs. “Where?”
