Kentucky Murders: A Small Town Murder Mystery (14 page)

“Sorry to interrupt you, Sheriff,” said Kate sarcastically.

Zack stepped up, saying, “Please, Kate, let me handle this. Okay?”

Kate looked down and took a step back.

“I heard you two have been going around together. Kate, you shouldn’t get tied up with these drifters. They’ll take off in the middle of the night, and you’ll never see ’em again.”

“Sheriff, I want to talk with you,” Zack said. “It’s about Max.”

“I know all about it. I checked out the house myself after you took him off to the hospital. They have to call the local police, you know.”

“Did you find anything?” asked Kate, stepping forward.

Zack stared at her and she faded back, taking his hint.

“No, I didn’t. I figure some drifter
s
” He paused, looking at Zack. “Some drifters were looking to rob the place, but found Max instead, so they beat him up in the process.”

Zack sighed. “How would they ever find his house?”

“Happens all the time. They see a dirt road and figure they’ll find an empty cabin to break into. Only this time they found Max.”

“What about the money?” asked Zack.

“Money? What the hell you talking about, boy?”

“Max had over $10,000 hidden in his house. Did they get it?”

“Must have, ’cause it sure as hell ain’t there anymore. Exactly like I said, thievin’ drifters.”

The sheriff was willing to write it all off to some crazy theory, but Zack wouldn’t let that happen. “Sheriff, we think we know who did it.” Zack looked at Kate, then back at the sheriff. “Tommy Ray and his friends.”

“And what makes you think that?”

He explained what had happened that afternoon and how Tommy had it in for Zack, too, because of him and Kate.

“If you stole my girl, I’d be pretty pissed, too.”

“I’m not his girl!” Kate called out.

“Anyway,” Zack continued. “By beating up Max, he was also getting at me, because Max and I had become friends.”

“Let me get this straight.” The sheriff folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. “Tommy doesn’t like you because you stole his girl, and Max is your friend, so he nearly beats Max to death to get back at you.”

“That’s basically it.”

“Did you see him do it? Do you have any proof?”

“Well, no.”

“Did anyone see it happen?”

“Not that I know of, but there must be some kind of evidence.”

“Well, that’s where you’re wrong. I went over every inch of that place. There’s nothing.”

“What about tire tracks or fingerprints?”

“It poured rain that night. There were no tracks other than the ruts you made with your car. And fingerprints? We ain’t the FBI. This is a small town, not Detroit.”

“Couldn’t you bring in some outside help? There may be $10,000 missing here. The state police, maybe?”

“A whole team went over the place again this morning and checked everything. There sure as hell wasn’t any money. And there wasn’t any evidence that would prove Tommy or any other specific person committed the crime. We take care of ourselves in this county. I bet we’d find your finger prints out there.  Shit maybe you should be the number one suspect. Also, I find it hard to believe that that simple-minded son of a bitch had that kind of money tucked away under a damn mattress. Besides, we don’t need a bunch of strangers running around here askin’ all sorts of questions. Boy, you watch too many TV movies. In real life crimes go unsolved all the time.”

Zack smelled smoke and turned to find Kate puffing on a cigarette. He turned back to the sheriff. “Will you check this out further? Find out where Tommy was that night? Please?” he asked, trying to stay calm. He hated having to play along with this man who obviously couldn’t have cared less. “If you want proof that there was money, ask the bank. I tried to get Max to deposit the money that day, but he wouldn’t do it.”

“I’ll check it out.”

Zack turned away, exasperated. “Let’s get out of here.” They went out and down the street to Zack’s car. As he opened his door, he spotted them across the street. Tommy and his four friends watched him from the truck. When they saw Zack looking at them, their eyes turned away, and they pretended to talk amongst themselves.

Zack knew now that they would be watching him. What would they do? He supposed they felt safe for now. They had covered up their crime well. Zack had no proof, and the sheriff wasn’t going to be much help. He had promised Kate that he’d give the sheriff a chance, and he would keep his promise. But after tha
t


“Zack,” said Kate, leaning across the top of the car from the sidewalk. “What are you thinking?”

“I was just thinking that I’ll give the sheriff time to do his job. That’s all.”

“He wasn’t always like that,” said Kate.

“What do you mean?”

“I remember when we were in high school; we all liked the sheriff. He was a nice guy. One time he caught us drinking beer out at the lake, and all he did was pour it out in front of us, give us a warning, and let us go. He didn’t even tell out parents. Ever since his wife died, he’s been different. They say he blew almost all of his retirement savings for her treatment. They even flew out to California. She seemed fine, and then, a few months later, she was gone. Lung cancer. After that, he changed.”

“I’m sorry that he’s had a tough time, but all I’m asking is for him to do his job.”

“Just give him a chance, Zack.” She stepped back. “Gotta get back to work. Will I see you later? I’m off at five.”

“I’m tired. Tonight I think I’ll go to bed early. How about tomorrow?”

“Will you be visiting Max?”

“Yes. Want to go?”

She nodded.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow around five-thirty.”

She turned, walked off, and waved over her shoulder. “See you then.”

Zack got into his car and drove toward his apartment. He thought about the secret he was now keeping from Kate, a betrayal that could ruin both their lives.

Chapter 27

“If he dies,” said Kenny, “we could go down for murder.”

Tommy looked down from the top of his truck cab, where he sat cross-legged. They were parked along a dirt road in the same area where Tommy and Jesse had gone shooting less than a month earlier. “First, they’ve got to prove we did it,” said Tommy, trying to convince himself as much as the others. The other four men looked up at him. Three of them sat around the top edge of the truck bed, their feet inside the bed, and the other sat on the floor, his back against the tailgate. Tommy looked like a preacher perched high above his congregation.

“I talked with a nurse friend of mine at the hospital,” said Mike. “She said he’s still in a coma, but is stable, and has been moved from intensive care to a private room.”

“That means he’s not under the constant watch of a nurse anymore,” said Tommy, thinking out loud. He looked up at the sky, where the bright sun had almost reached its highest point and would soon be sliding down in a westerly arch. “We have to make sure he doesn’t wake up. He can’t be allowed to talk. Even attempted murder would mean hard time.”

Bull, an over two-hundred pound hulk, spoke up from where he sat alone on one side of the truck: “You mea
n
kill him?”

Tommy smiled and finished the last of his beer. He tossed the can into the woods. “Any other suggestions?”

“I told you to stop kicking him, Tommy,” said Jesse. “You went too damn far. We were just supposed to teach him a lesson, not put him into a coma.”

Tommy shrugged and motioned for another beer. “What’s done is done.” He caught the beer Mike had tossed to him. “Just remember that we’re all in this together. Don’t go chicken shit on us now, Jesse.”

“I don’t want to be involved in a murder.”

“Tell you what,” said Tommy, looking down at the others. “Forget the whole thing. I’ll take care of everything personally. Now let me drop you assholes off. I’ve got something to check out.”

As Tommy climbed down, Bull asked, “What about that Taylor son of a bitch? He already went to the sheriff yesterday.”

“And the sheriff talked to all of us. We all had alibis. Right? You just make sure your brother sticks to his story that we played cards all night at his house. Okay?”

Bull nodded.

“We’ve got nothing to worry about then. Just relax, all of you. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Tommy dropped off the other men and drove over to the next town, where Max lay helpless in his hospital bed. At some time, maybe even Tommy himself didn’t notice exactly when, Tommy had gone past the point of no return. His actions had moved further than he had thought possible, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it now. His dad had taught him to act first and worry about consequences later. That had worked for Tomm
y
until now. Then he thought about Kate.  All this went back to his situation with her.  Kate had led to Taylor and Taylor had led to Max.  Now because of Max he was in this impossible situation. Things just seemed to be piling up on top of him.  If he didn’t find a way to dig himself out of this mess, he’d be crushed under the load.

Chapter 28

The phone rang and the nurse picked up the receiver. She pressed the button with the flashing light. “Crestville General Hospital.” She paused while she listened. “You missed the morning visiting hours. Sorry. You’ll can come at six this evening and stay until eight.” Another pause. “Just a minute.” She picked up a clip board and searched a list. “He’s in room 504.” A pause. “You’re welcome.” She hung up the phone.

---

He looked at his watch, which read 5:40. He then scanned for the security car that made its rounds of the back parking lot every thirty minutes or so. It had passed five minutes earlier and was nowhere in sight. He trotted from the woods, across the employee parking lot, and slipped into the rear entrance of the hospital. Inside, he followed the empty hallway to the stairwell that led to the fifth and uppermost floor, where Max lay in room 504.

Quickly and silently climbing the stairs, he watched for patrolling security guards. Finally, he reached the top landing and peered down the empty hallway through the wire-reinforced window in the fire exit door. Suddenly, a nurse darted out of a room and walked off toward the nurses’ station down at the far end and around the corner. He waited.

---

“We’re fifteen minutes early for visiting hours,” said Zack as they pulled into the parking lot.

---

After the nurse had disappeared around the corner, he slowly opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. A television played from one of the rooms; its sound echoed through the otherwise silent wing.

The first two rooms at the end read 511 on one side and 512 on the other. That would mean Max’s room was on the even side, about halfway down the hallway. If only they’d put him down at this end. That would have made his job so much easier, he thought.

He slid along the wall working his way down, ready to dart into a room at the first sound of a nurse’s footsteps. He passed 510, 508, 506, and then he slipped into Max’s room. He glanced at his watch, 5:53. He would have to hurry. At six, this place would get crowded.

Max lay before him, his chest and head bandaged, and his right arm covered with a plaster cast. He watched the rising and falling of Max’s chest as it kept pace with the respirator machine standing next to the bed. An intravenous bag hung above from a metal pole, its tube running down to Max’s good arm. A second machine recorded blips of light and the sound of his slow, steady heartbeat.

He moved over quickly and looked down behind the respirator. He found a power cord plugged into the wall outlet and, with a tug, pulled it out.

---

Looking down at his watch, Zack said, “Come on, Kate.” He grabbed her hand as she stood. “It’s six. Time to go up.”

They left the first floor waiting room and headed toward the elevators.

“I wonder if Max has shown improvement since last time,” she said. “Maybe he’s come out of the coma by now.”

The elevator door opened, and Zack ushered her inside. “We’ll find out in a second.” He pushed the button marked “5,” and it lit up white, as the doors closed.

Just then, another group of visitors rushed forward. “Please!” called an older woman.

Zack reached out, caught the doors, and they bounced back open. A group of six people climbed on board. By the time they finished pressing the necessary floors, buttons 2, 3, 4, and 5 were all lit. Zack looked over at Kate, shrugged, and whispered, “Oh, well.”

The elevator jerked upward.

---

He had wondered if there would be any struggle, but instead he found that unplugging the machine didn’t stop Max’s breathing after all. His breaths became more irregular, but the machine hadn’t been keeping him alive, as suspected. Reaching back, he tugged on Max’s pillow, and after a few seconds, it came out. He removed the respirator mask from his face, lifted the pillow, and placed it over the unconscious man’s face.