Moonshine Murder [Hawkman Bk 14] (29 page)

Before Hawkman could respond, the doctor strolled into the room. “Hello, Detective Chandler. You sent us a good one this time. I think we can save him, even though he's in bad shape. He told us to get him well; he had a score to settle. The old fellow's got spunk"

"Really. Good for him,” Chandler said, with a grin. “I knew I liked this old codger. You tell him I'll be back to see him in a couple of days. We need to talk."

The detective and Hawkman walked back to the car. On the way to the station, Chandler shot a look at Hawkman. “What did you think about everything that went down today?"

"I thought you did a great job. The one thing that baffles me is I didn't know the old fellow's name, so just assumed the Jacob, Jr., the land where Jeb and family had set up housekeeping. Now, I'm doubting it. I'm going to go back to the courthouse and recheck the title."

"You think Jacob, Sr., is really the owner?"

"I have my suspicions."

"Let me know if you get verification. I'd like to add another abuse charge against Jacob, Jr."

They reached the station lot where Hawkman hopped out of the police car and went to his own vehicle. He waved at Detective Chandler as he drove out of the lot and headed for the courthouse.

When he entered the section of properties, he saw the young woman who'd helped him before and walked straight to her desk.

"Hi, Mr. Casey. What can I do for you today?"

He explained what he needed and her fingers flew over the keyboard of her computer. Within in a matter of seconds, she had the title in front of her and turned the monitor so Hawkman could see it. She pointed out the owner of the property.

"It's owned by Jacob Ross Hutchinson.” She paused. “Wait a minute. On the second line is ‘Sr.'. Looks like there wasn't enough room to put that on the first line."

"All I needed to know. Could you make a copy of the deed?

"Sure. Give me a few minutes,” she said, leaving her desk. She soon returned and handed him the papers.

"Thank you.” He got up and left the room.

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Hawkman drove back to the police station and went inside. The receptionist told him to wait in Detective Chandler's office as he'd be there shortly. Within a few minutes, the detective came in and sat down at his desk. “Sorry for making you wait. Been at the holding cell where we have Hutchinson. We took pictures of those scratches. She clawed him bad; doc said a couple of them were infected. Then I had to give the doctor instructions about getting a vial of blood for me to send out for the DNA test, so had to sign some papers. Got a message from the SPCA; they've picked up Mutt and taken him straight to the veterinarian. They said the poor animal was in bad shape. What news did you find?"

Hawkman leaned forward. “The property is owned by Jacob Hutchinson, Sr.” He handed the copy of the deed to the detective.

After he studied the document, he glanced at Hawkman. “Wonder if Jeb knows?"

"I doubt he'd even question the consent to his living there, even if he knew his dad didn't own it. He probably figured his grandfather had said it was fine.” Hawkman shrugged. “ Who knows, maybe he did. Sometimes it pays to have people on your property, rather than have it available to vandals."

Chandler brushed back the sandy colored hair that had fallen across his forehead. “This has been quite a day."

Hawkman rose from the chair. “It's moved along at a rapid rate. Let me know about the DNA."

"I'm putting a rush on it. I can keep him behind bars for a while with the abuse charges, hopefully until I receive the report."

"Has Jacob hired a lawyer?"

"Not yet. I don't think he realizes he's in a pot of boiling water."

"Keep me informed."

"Will do."

Hawkman left the station and drove home. He and Jennifer talked for hours over what had happened and the repercussions it could have on Jeb and Beth.

"How will they know what's occurred?” Jennifer asked.

"We'll take it a step at a time. It'll work itself out, and we'll know what to do to help."

Several days passed. Hawkman kept his regular routine of going to the office in Medford, trying not to think about the Hutchinsons, but working on cases he'd taken on in the past two weeks. The phone rang just as he sat down at the desk with a cup of coffee. He punched on the speaker.

"Tom Casey, Private Investigator."

"Tom, this is Detective Chandler. Where are you right now?"

"Medford, at my office."

"How soon could you get to Yreka?"

"In forty-five minutes to an hour."

"Would it be too much to ask you to come to the station right away?"

"Not at all. I can leave now."

"Great, I'll explain everything when you get here."

Hawkman closed down shop and headed for Yreka on Interstate 5. Since there was little traffic, he made the trip in record time, and walked into the police station in about forty minutes.

Chandler looked surprised. “My word, man, did you fly?"

"Want to thank you for clearing the freeway. Had it all to myself,” Hawkman said, grinning.

The detective chuckled. “I'm sure you're wondering why I wanted you here. Two things. The first is the DNA report came back a perfect match. So we have our murderer behind bars. The

second thing is, I received a phone call from Jacob, Sr.'s lawyer. He wants you and me to meet him at the hospital."

"Why me?” Hawkman asked.

"The old man requested it. Says he knows you've been involved with his family. Now, don't ask me if that's good or bad; we'll soon find out.” Chandler stood. “You ready?"

"Why not."

They climbed into the police car and drove to the hospital. On the way over, Hawkman asked about how the older Hutchinson was doing.

"I've made a few calls, checking his progress, but haven't seen him. The doctor told me, he's been amazed at Jacob's recovery. He said, he definitely has a will to live."

They reached the hospital and found out the room number, and were soon sitting around the bed of the senior Jacob Hutchinson. Hawkman couldn't keep from staring at the old fellow. He could hardly believe he was the same man he'd seen taken out on a gurney from that filthy house. He'd been cleaned up, his blue eyes sparkled, his face had some color and he smiled at Hawkman.

"You didn't think this old man would make it, did you?"

"Sir, to be honest, no. I'm looking at a miracle."

He introduced Hawkman and Detective Chandler to his attorney. “This man has been my lawyer for many years. Jacob never let him come and see me after he put me in that rat infested room. Always made up some excuse, especially when I got so weak I couldn't do anything about it. Then you two men entered my life. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You came just in time; otherwise, I would have died for sure."

Detective Chandler reached over and took the man's hand. “When I saw you, I wasn't leaving until I could get you to the hospital."

Jacob patted his arm. “I've got a few things to do in this world before I leave it, and one thing is, to make life easier for Jeb and Beth. My son was greedy and mean. From what I understand, he'll be spending the rest of his life in jail. Good riddance as far as I'm concerned. He won't be around to tempt Jeb into doing wrong things. Jeb's a good man; he didn't intend to kill anyone. His wife is wonderful. I've always loved Beth.” He pointed a not so feeble finger at Hawkman. “You know where they disappeared to, don't you?"

"Yes,” Hawkman said.

"Good. I've got a job for you, Hawkman, and I'll pay you nicely. I want you to tell them I said to get back to the cabin. Let them know about Jacob, Jr. and tell them Great Grandpa will come and see them soon. Tell Jeb to destroy the still and get it out of there. We're going to raise cattle, not moonshine."

Hawkman smiled. “I'll do that, but I won't take a dime for it. It will give me much pleasure to follow your orders. Tell me, how did you know to call me Hawkman?"

Jacob chuckled. “You'll never get rich that way. To answer your question. I've lived in this area a long time, and when I saw you at Jacob's house, sporting the eye-patch, I knew exactly who you were. You'd worked for the Agency, then married that petite little widow, Jennifer, that lived at Copco Lake. I know lots more about you, but now is not the time to go into it.” Then he turned to the detective. “I want you to tell my son, he's no longer in my will. I've had my lawyer write up a new one. That'll take the starch out of him real fast."

"I'll do it,” Chandler said, nodding.

"Okay, gentlemen, that's all I have to say right now. I need my rest, so I'm in good shape to go to the cabin to see my grandson and his sweet wife. I want them to look upon me as strong and able. Hawkman, you let me know when they're back."

"I'll certainly do that.” Hawkman said, shaking his hand.

The two men left the hospital, and on the way back to the police station, Hawkman noticed Chandler's stern expression. “You okay?” he asked.

The detective slapped his hand against the steering wheel. “Just makes me so mad to think his son let him get in such bad shape. I'm sure he's not much over eighty years old, but when I saw him in that bed, I'd have sworn he was a hundred. Thank God, we found him in time."

"True,” Hawkman said. “After a few months of good nourishment, and some physical therapy, I'd say he'll be like a new man."

"I lost my Dad when I was ten years old, and I've missed him all my life. Just so hard for me to see anyone treat their Dad so badly. When I'd give my eye teeth to have mine back."

Hawkman now knew why Chandler got so angry when he saw Jacob in the filthy bed with sores all over him. “I have a feeling it's going to give you a great deal of pleasure to tell Jacob, Jr. he's no longer in his dad's will."

Chandler smirked. “Oh, you bet.” Then he glanced at Hawkman. “By the way, Jacob, Sr. sure knew a lot about you. So your nickname is Hawkman. How'd you come by that handle?"

"Yeah, when we have more time, remind me to tell you."

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Hawkman realized time had slipped by and today, being Friday, it was possible Jeb would be at the cabin finishing up a batch of moonshine. When he arrived home, he told Jennifer about the events of the day, and informed her he was going to the cabin.

"I'll go in the front way, so maybe I'll catch him off guard, and he won't shoot me.

She put a hand on her hip, and looked him in the face. “I'm going with you."

He frowned. “Honey, it could be dangerous, and he might not even be there."

Ignoring his comment, she continued, “If he's not there, we'll borrow the Martins’ horses and ride up to their campsite in the morning. Let's go on the four-wheeler tonight. If Jeb's there, seeing me at your back might prevent him from shooting."

Loudly exhaling, he glared at her. “Guess there's no way of talking you out of your crazy idea."

She threw back her head in a haughty manner. “Nope. When do you want to leave?"

"Now. Let's get this over with."

Jennifer strapped on the fanny pack holding her gun, then they went outside and climbed onto the Polaris. When they approached the cabin, Hawkman noted Jeb's horse wasn't there. The two buckets were still by the cabin front door. He jumped off the machine, went to the locked fermenting building and pressed his ear against the wood. The bubbling sounded faint, but he could still hear it. He turned to Jennifer, who'd checked the cabin.

"Anything different?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing in the house."

"Come here, and tell me what you hear."

She stepped closer and listened. “It's still fermenting, but it doesn't seem real strong."

Hawkman hooked his thumbs in the back pockets of his jeans, and looked out over the countryside. “I'm thinking, he'll come tomorrow."

They walked back to the four-wheeler. “How long does it take to reach the campsite on horseback?” Jennifer asked.

"Hour and a half to two hours. It's a rough ride, mostly uphill."

"We better get back home so we have time to talk to Carla and Wayne before dark. We'll need a very early start in the morning to catch Jeb before he leaves."

They left the cabin site, and stopped at the Martins’ house. When they told them of the plan, they both agreed to lend Jasper and Nellie. Wayne took them to the corral, saddled the horses and gave Jennifer a couple of small buckets of grain. He then wished his two friends luck, and went back home.

Jennifer looped the buckets over the handle bars and drove the four-wheeler back to their house. Hawkman rode Jasper and led Nellie by the reins. They tied the horses in the back, as Hawkman had done before, and Jennifer fed them a couple of carrots. He snapped off the small pack under the cantle and brought it inside the house. Doubting he could make contact up in the hills with his cell phone, he still charged it and decided to take it in case of an emergency. He cleaned his gun and shoved extra ammunition into the pack. He prayed they wouldn't come face to face with a cougar or bear. It might take more than a few shots to knock a big animal down. Jennifer also added extras to her fanny pack. They had a light dinner, then went to bed.

Saturday morning, the couple arose before the sun. Hawkman went out and fed the horses the grain Wayne had given them while Jennifer dressed in jeans, boots, sweatshirt and a cowboy hat. After eating breakfast, she made sure they each had a tall bottle of water, and extra carrots to carry for the horses. They were soon ready, went outside, and mounted their steeds. Jennifer stayed abreast of Hawkman until they got into the hills, where she dropped behind him since he knew the way. After an hour in the saddle of hard riding, Jennifer knew she'd be one sore female tomorrow. It had been a long time since she'd been in the saddle too. Fortunately, Nellie was an easy riding horse.

Hawkman turned in his saddle. “Be on the lookout for mountain lions or any other varmints; this is near the area where Jeb killed the one I told you about.” He pointed to the ground ahead of him. “In fact, there's the remains."