O Little Town (12 page)

CHAPTER 21

Buddy Briggs was used to getting phone calls in the middle of the night. It came with the job. But familiarity didn’t change the nature of the calls. He, like Lois Pence, knew that a telephone ringing in a darkened room was usually the harbinger of bad news. He knew as he picked up the phone this was something that would require him to get out of his warm bed and head into the snowy night, which only looked pretty from inside a cozy room.

“Yes?”

“Buddy?”

“Speaking.”

“This is Colleen Sandridge. I’m sorry to call you at this hour. But I’m worried about Milton. It’s eleven thirty, and he still isn’t home.”

Buddy propped himself up on his elbow and turned on the bedside lamp.

“Is he always home by this time?”

“Oh, most definitely. I just talked to him two hours ago and he said he was coming right home.”

“Where was he then?”

“At the store.”

“Has he ever stopped off at someplace to get a drink or a sandwich?”

“Never that I know of. I told him I was going to make him some tea. That was around nine thirty and he said he would be home by ten. I’ve called his assistant manager.…”

“Lois?”

“Yes, Lois Pence, and she said he was at his desk when she left.”

“And what time was that?”

“Shortly after nine. I don’t want to sound like an alarmist but this has never happened before, and I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry I woke you up but I didn’t know who else to call.”

“That’s okay. Listen, let me do a little checking and I’ll call you right back. Okay?”

“Thank you so much, Buddy.”

Buddy sat up on the edge of the bed and rubbed both hands across his eyes. He looked to see if the phone or the conversation had wakened Amanda. Her eyes were closed, but she asked, “Who was that?”

“Colleen Sandridge. She can’t find Milton.”

Amanda never said a word and never opened her eyes. Thoughts raced through her head that she couldn’t tell her husband. She was a faithful wife but she was also a loyal friend, and she hadn’t told Buddy the things Dove confided in her. Suddenly all those things, all those out-of-the-way meeting places and out-of-town day trips only she knew about, caused her imagination to explode. She might be able to solve this for Buddy. She could start by calling to see if Dove was home. But when she rolled over and looked at the clock and saw it was only twenty-five minutes until midnight, she scrapped that plan immediately. If Dove was there or if she wasn’t, what reason could she possibly give for calling? She closed her eyes again and lay there with her thoughts. The only thing she could think to do was pray, and she wasn’t sure quite how to pray about this situation.

Buddy was in the kitchen on the phone.

“Mt. Jefferson Police Department.”

“Lorrie, this is Briggs. Who’s got patrol duty downtown tonight?”

“That would be Officer Tolley.”

“Have him check on the parking lot behind Macalbee’s to see if a green ’56 Chevy is there. Two-door.”

“License number?”

“I have no idea. Just have him check and call me at home as quick as you can.”

“Will do, Lieutenant.”

Amanda walked in the kitchen as Buddy was attempting to make a pot of coffee. She had considered staying in bed but couldn’t justify inaction while hearing her husband banging around in the kitchen looking for a sugar bowl that had sat on the same shelf for the past eight years. She smiled at him and said, “Sit down. I’ll fix it.” A moment later she asked, “Where do you think he might be?”

“Beats me. Milton seldom drinks. There’s not much open anyway this time of night and especially on a night like this. I’m a little worried he might have slipped off the road somewhere. I was just trying to figure how many different ways he could have driven home. We’ll backtrack him that way and then if that doesn’t turn up anything …”

“What then?”

“I don’t know. We’ll see.”

The phone rang again. Buddy answered on the first ring.

“Lieutenant? Officer Tolley just radioed in. That car, green ’56 Chevy, is on the lot, covered with snow.”

“Thanks, Lorrie. Tell Tolley to meet me there in fifteen minutes.”

“On the lot?”

“On the lot. And, Lorrie, call Lois Pence. I don’t know the number or the address. Tell her we need the key to the store. She’s the assistant manager. Send Tolley over to her house to get it.”

“What if she won’t give him the key? You know how finicky some of these merchants are.”

“Then have Tolley bring her along with the key.” Buddy held the phone for a second before hanging it up. He looked at Amanda with a puzzled look.

“What?” she asked out of frustration.

“His car is still at the store. It hasn’t been moved. That means he’s still inside or left with someone else. Or someone is in the store with him.”

Amanda felt her breathing become irregular and was sure her color had drained. She was overcome with the feeling that if she withheld what she knew from her husband it would be as if she was being unfaithful. Where was her loyalty? To her husband, of course. She had already betrayed Dove once with that gaffe about Walter Selman. But she couldn’t let Buddy walk into such a sticky situation blind. Or maybe he already knew? Maybe he was thinking the same things.

Buddy was back in the bedroom dressing hurriedly in a pair of khakis and a crew neck sweater. He came through the kitchen putting his arm into his overcoat.

“Buddy, I have to tell you something”

“Can’t it wait, honey? I sort of have my hands full right now.”

“No, it can’t. It’s about this situation.”

“About this? About Milton?” Her words had stopped him cold.

“Yes. Oh, I don’t know how to tell you this. Promise me, Buddy, what I am about to say will never leave this room. Please promise you’ll never tell a soul.”

“What’s up, Amanda?” It was one of the few times she’d detected the policeman in his voice when addressing her. He looked her directly in the eye and held the stare until she spoke.

“I might know what’s going on with Milton. I might. I don’t know for sure. But you think he might have someone in the store with him, and if he does, I might know who it is.”

“Go on.” The policeman was gone. She was talking to Buddy again and that made it a little bit easier. But only a little bit.

“Dove Franklin and Buddy are old friends from years ago in Richmond.”

“I know that.”

“I mean real good friends, Buddy. And they see each other whenever they can. They sneak around and they swear nothing really bad happens but they still sneak around. And I’m the only one that knows about it.”

“How do
you
know about it?”

“Dove told me. If anyone is in that store, in that office with him tonight, I just know it’s her. I don’t want a bunch of policemen barging in there. This mess would be all over Main Street before Christmas morning. Please don’t hate me for keeping this from you. I was just trying to be a good friend to Dove. I’ve wanted to tell you so many times but I just didn’t know what to do.”

“Not your fault. I’ll just make sure I go in first. I’ll leave Tolley at the door.”

This news left Buddy numb, but with a lot of questions. Questions he didn’t have time to ask. It also left him relieved, because when Amanda began to tell him, a fear from down inside crept up in his stomach that she was going to reveal something about herself.

The phone rang and made them both jump.

“Yes.”

“Buddy, this is Colleen.”

“I was just getting ready to call you, Colleen,” Buddy lied. He had no intention of calling Colleen until he had found Milton. He looked at Amanda, who was sitting at the table with her head buried in her hands. “We’re going to check a few places out and then I’ll get back to you.”

“That’s what I’m calling you about. I’ve been out riding around looking for him since we talked. And I found his car. It’s still on the lot behind the store.”

Buddy’s face muscles tightened. “What? Where are you now?”

“I’m at that phone booth in front of the Jefferson Bank. I can see the back door of the store from here but I don’t have a key, of course. I banged on the door a few times but I don’t know if he’s in there.”

“Colleen, you need to go home and let me handle this. Will you do that?”

“I need to get in the store. It’s freezing out here. Can you get a key?”

“Colleen, go home.”

“I’ll wait here till you get a key. Certainly the police know how to get in a locked door.”

“Colleen—” but the rest of that sentence was lost to the dial tone from the other end of the line. Buddy slammed the phone down a little harder than he meant. It startled Amanda, who looked up with tears in her eyes. Shirley Ann was standing in the doorway in her pajamas.

“Mama. Daddy. What’s going on?”

“Your daddy has been called out tonight, that’s all.”

“Then why are you crying?”

Amanda sighed heavily. “It’s just life, Shirley Ann, life. Go back to bed.”

CHAPTER 22

Buddy met Milton shortly after the war in the spring of ’47. He had only been in town for a month or so when Milton called the police station about a theft problem at Macalbee’s. Buddy, a uniformed officer at the time, answered the call. Buddy remembered feeling like he was being watched as he walked in the store’s front door and down the aisles. He stopped in the middle of the store and looked all around and then finally spotted Milton standing by the window in his office. Milton waved Buddy up, and when he got to the office, Milton was waiting with coffee and a handshake.”

“How you doing? I’m Milton Sandridge.”

“Buddy Briggs.”

“Sit down.”

“Thank you. That’s a pretty neat window you got there,” Buddy said. “You’ve got a bird’s-eye view of everything.”

“Well, not everything or I wouldn’t have needed to call you.”

They both laughed.

“I can look out this window and see shoplifters and window shoppers and serious shoppers. I see people who just come in to get out of the cold or the heat, kids who just want to finger everything and don’t have a dime to spend, and comparison shoppers from other stores. I see people who come in each week to pay down their layaways and those who show up once and never return. And I see clerks loafing and gossiping and trying to look busy. But what I don’t see, Officer … what was it?”

“Briggs. Buddy.”

“What I don’t see, Buddy, is whoever it is that’s stealing me blind.”

Choosing to call him Buddy that first day sealed their friendship.

Buddy drank another cup of coffee while Milton laid out his problem.

“We’ve got merchandise missing. And some of it is big stuff. We keep a rack of winter coats there toward the back. Last week we lost four, all different sizes. Last Friday an entire bolt of cloth came up missing. My assistant and I pretty much keep watch on the store throughout the day. Not every minute, mind you, but we keep an eye on things. I know we’ll miss shoplifters who take small stuff. Thread and scissors and stockings and socks and things they can stuff in their pockets. But this big stuff has me stumped. One day last week a tricycle was missing. Now tell me how somebody gets a tricycle out the front door without somebody seeing them?”

Buddy thought for a moment and offered a plan.

“Give me a week. Don’t do anything until you hear back from me. And don’t tell anyone why I was here this morning. Let’s just keep this between the two of us.”

Milton agreed, and after they talked a few minutes more about the problems of downtown parking, the weather, and the Yankees, Buddy stood up, shook hands, and left. About halfway through the store, he turned and looked up and waved. Milton waved back. Buddy knew he’d be watching.

That evening at closing time Buddy changed into his street clothes and walked down the narrow alley between Macalbee’s and the neighboring store. He checked all the windows and found everything to be in order. The next evening, he did the same thing and found things to be in order. On Friday he went home, ate supper, and came back at ten minutes after seven and repeated his alley trek. The third window he tried was unlocked. He raised it, looked inside to a dark basement and closed it again gently. He went back to the station and called the Macalbee’s number. Milton answered from his office.

“Hello.”

“Milton?”

“This is he.”

“Buddy Briggs here. Are you alone?”

“Yeah, I’m alone.”

“I think I’ve got a lead on your burglar.”

“Burglar? Do we have a burglar?”

“You might. Are you getting ready to leave soon?”

“Just ready to walk out the door.”

“It’ll be another hour before it gets good and dark, so go on home. Don’t change a thing. Meet me back here in about thirty minutes. Park by the station. I’ll be watching for you.”

“What are we doing exactly?”

“We’re catching bad guys. I’ll see you in about thirty.”

Thirty minutes later Milton pulled up behind the police station and parked his car. Buddy was waiting for him. Together they walked through the alley to the back of Macalbee’s.

“I think I’ve found
how
your merchandise is leaving the store but I wanted you here when we found out
who
it was leaving with.”

They hid behind a service truck and settled in for a long wait. But they made good use of their time. They smoked half a pack of Lucky Strikes and talked about everything from women and Harry Truman to Jackie Robinson and Groucho Marx. They agreed on three out of the four.

Milton was about to argue that Groucho used to be funnier with his brothers when Buddy laid a hand on his arm to silence him. A figure came around the back corner of the store and was creeping slowly toward them. They both watched as the shadow crept to the third window and raised it as high as it would go. The perpetrator took out a flashlight and shined it inside as he climbed down into the store basement. Then the stock started flying out the window. First a couple of sweaters, then a crate of candy, a scooter, and finally, two sets of bed sheets and pillowcases. When the burglar stuck his leg through the window to make his escape, Buddy made his move. As the thief reached up to pull down the window sash, Officer Briggs cuffed him.

Milton saw it all at close range. The heist. The arrest. And the fear in the eyes of Earl Meeks, his assistant manager, as Buddy walked him across the adjoining alley to the police station. From that day on he had vowed never to allow the home office to send him an out-of-town assistant. He demanded to hire his own and that’s how Lois Pence got her job.

The roads were worse than Buddy had expected. If Milton
was
out in this mess in someone else’s car, he might just be in a ditch or over the side of a hill. And what about his wife? Colleen had been risking her life on the roads too. What was he going to do with her when he got to the store? If she was still in the phone booth or even sitting on the parking lot, she couldn’t miss them. Maybe he could plead police business and danger. He didn’t know her very well so he didn’t know how easily she could be bluffed. He would just have to be fast on his feet.

As the headlights from his cruiser flooded across the back of Macalbee’s and came to a stop, he saw the three of them walking up to the back door: Officer Tolley, Colleen Sandridge, and Lois Pence.

Tolley walked to the car as soon as it came to a stop and left the women standing under a small overhang just outside ear range.

“Lieutenant, I had to bring the woman with me. She wouldn’t give up the key. She’s a feisty one.”

“What about the wife? What kind of shape is she in?”

“She’s pretty upset. Not crying or anything, but concerned and determined. I can’t tell if she’s mad or worried. She just seems a little out of it. What’s going on exactly? What are we doing here and what are we looking for?”

“Her husband didn’t come home tonight. He may be inside and he may not be.”

“This guy a friend of yours”?

“Yeah. And Tolley, it’s a little sticky. I’m going to need you to keep these women just inside once we get in the building. I want to search the premises by myself.”

“You got ‘Henry’ with you?”

“Church is the only place I go without him.”

Colleen and Lois were women from two different worlds. Lois was a widow devoted to her job, and Colleen was a wife devoted to her husband. Milton was their one and only bond. Before tonight their past conversations had amounted to “Hello. How are you today? Is Milton there?”

“You look nearly frozen, Mrs. Sandridge,” Lois said.

“I’m all right. I wish they would hurry up though. Do you have the key?”

“Yes, I do. That officer wanted me to give it to him but I wouldn’t do it. I told him I didn’t care if he was J. Edgar Hoover, I wasn’t giving it to him so he said ‘Get your coat,’ and here I am.”

“I think you should go ahead and open it so we can step inside where it’s warm.”

Lois Pence was digging in her purse for the key when the lieutenant walked toward them. Buddy still didn’t know exactly how he was going to play this.

“Colleen. Lois,” he began. “Before we open that door, here’s what I want you to do. After you turn on the lights, I need both of you stay by the door with Officer Tolley. Okay?”

Lois spoke as she was turning the key. “That’s fine with me. Here, I’ll flip the switches.”

As the light began to fill the building, Colleen pushed past Lois and headed in a near run toward Milton’s office. Buddy followed behind. He called for her and pleaded with her to stop but she ignored him. Just as she opened the door to the stairs that led to the office, Buddy caught up to her and grabbed her arm. Somehow she pulled away and started running up the narrow staircase. He heard noise coming from behind the office door. The radio. And as Colleen flung the door open and the music became louder, they froze in horror. Milton was slumped over his desk.

Colleen screamed. Buddy grabbed her by the shoulders and moved her out of the doorway and went behind the desk. He put his finger against Milton’s neck, feeling for a pulse. When he looked up, Lois Pence and Officer Tolley were in the room and Colleen was in a chair with her hands to her mouth. Buddy looked at Tolley.

“Radio for an ambulance.”

“Is he alive?” Lois asked. Buddy was surprised by her calmness.

“Yes.”

Officer Tolley stepped out into the small hallway, and with much crackling and code, called for help. Lois put her arm around Colleen’s shoulders and said soft and comforting things that no one else could or needed to hear. Buddy stood by the desk looking at his friend. He was suddenly aware that the only sound in the room besides Colleen’s sobbing was Perry Como singing “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas.” He reached over and turned the radio off.