R.P. Dahlke - Dead Red 04 - A Dead Red Alibi (14 page)

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Chapter Twenty-three:

Caleb dropped Pearlie and me at the house and left to talk with Detective Tom.

When we walked into the kitchen, my dad had his hands in a large mixing bowl. The smell was enough to make me wrinkle my nose. “Whew! I hope that’s not our dinner.”

“Dog food. Where’s Caleb?”

“He went to see Detective Tom. I’m sorry, did you say dog food?”

“For my dog,” he said, breaking another egg into the bowl. “Scraps and some eggs, because that’s all we have. But as soon as I can get my Jeep back I’m going to town.”

“First, what dog? And second, why not drive the Bugatti?”

“The
Bugatti isn’t street licensed, and I’ve been tempting him with leftovers for a week.”

“I wondered who was eating all the eggs. Where is he?” I asked, looking out the patio windows.

“He comes at night. Mostly when everyone’s asleep.”

“Phantom, huh?”

“Oh, I’ve seen him, plenty of times. Don’t know if he can be domesticated or not, but he’s a nice looking fella.”

I added dog food to our grocery list and promised we’d all go into town as soon as Caleb returned.

Pearlie was lounging on the couch, waiting for her nail polish to dry, when her cell phone rang. I watched her carefully hit the accept call button.

“Yes, Reina. T
hey did?” Her feet dropped to the floor. “Does he have a lawyer? Okay, okay. We’ll be there in a jiffy.”

She closed her phone and slipped on her sandals.

“Reina’s hysterical and begging for help.”

“Why? What’s going on?” I asked.

“Homicide has arrested Julio Castillo.”

“Caleb
told us he has a rap sheet.”

“Let’s go see if she has any more secrets to share,” Pearlie said.

I had to remind her that Caleb took the rental car.

“Not
a problem. We’ll take that cute lil’ race car,” she said, heading for the door.

My dad came out of the kitchen, brandishing a large wooden spoon. “Oh, no you don’t. It’s not licensed. Besides, what’s to keep you two girls from wrecking it, too?”

“We’re only going to Bethany’s place,” I said pawing through the keys in the bowl.

“Now just a darn minute! This isn’t just any car, it’s a Bugatti.”

“Italian? I love Italian,” Pearlie said, “but don’t worry. We won’t be on any public roads. We’re only going as far as the art compound.”

“Why don’t you take the rental when Caleb gets back,”
Dad said. “Then you won’t have to keep borrowing one of my cars?”

“Excuse me,” I interrupted. “I believe that
Bugatti is now
my
property.”

At my outstretched hand, Dad accepted defeat and
handed over the barn key.

B
efore I could pocket the key, Pearlie snatched it out of his hand. “I’m drivin’.”

Dad followed us to the barn, reciting a list of dos-and-don
‘ts for operating the car.

“Unless you want to use the crank, you got to jump start it with the battery. And go easy on the clutch,” he said, as Pearlie revved the engine
and motioned for me to get in.

I managed to sit down before she put the car in gear. “Slow down!” I yelled over the roar of the motor. “This road is so bad, my teeth are rattling!”

“Jeez, you’re such a
girl
,” she said, throwing the wheel over and fishtailing into the compound.

~~~~~~~~~~

Reina opened her door before we could knock. She’d been crying again, and blew wetly into a tissue. “Thanks for coming.”

“Why don’t you tell us what’s going on,” I said.

“The detectives asked me to come in again. But they only wanted to know about Julio. He’s on parole, they know that. He and his pals were selling marijuana. But he’s been clean since prison, and he promised me he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize either his freedom or our relationship.”

“So what’s the problem?” I asked.

“The detectives found bundles of pot stashed in a cavern behind Bethany’s house. It’s not even on the grounds, but they’re trying to make a case against him, that he was using this place, and me, to transport drugs. He swore to me on his mother’s life that he had nothing to do with these drugs.”

“And you believe him?”

“Except for his time in prison, we’ve been together since high school. I wouldn’t agree to marry him if I thought he couldn’t stay clean.”

“You’re engaged?”

Reina thrust a two carat solitaire in front of us, then, as if she understood how the expensive ring looked, covered it with her other hand. “I’m really worried they’re going to try to stick Bethany’s murder on him.”

Homicide could hold Julio for forty-eight hours before they had to charge him or let him go. They would try to sweat him for a lead, a contact, any connection he had that could give them a viable suspect
in the two murders. It was what Caleb would do, and if Reina’s trust in Julio was cracking, we needed to get to the bottom of this.

“The police are looking to close this case, Reina,” I said. “Julio, with his record for dealing drugs, is the obvious choice.”

“No,” Reina sobbed. “Julio is a lot of things, but he’s no killer.”

“Reina,” Pearlie said, touching the girl’s hand. “If you’re so sure that he’s is innocent then let us help you. Does Julio still have associates who could’ve done this?”

“He-he doesn’t know any of them anymore. It had to be a stranger. The thieves took her cell phone and laptop, didn’t they?”

Pearlie drew back in surprise. “Who told you that?”

“I-I guess Mac did. But isn’t that the sort of things robbers do, right? Steal anything they can find?”

She was grasping at straws—not unlike what the detectives were doing.

“What can you tell us about Jason Stark?” I asked.

“Jason? Why? Do the cops suspect Jason?”

“Was he disappointed that her grandfather left the property to her?” I asked.

“That was before
I got here, but I do know he served time for manslaughter.”

Pearlie and I looked at each other. Jason had already demonstrated that he had a temper, and manslaughter could’ve been a deal when the D.A. didn’t think he could convict on a murder charge. I wondered who it was he killed?

I started to ask Reina about it, but she suddenly got up and went to her fridge. While her back was turned, Pearlie whispered, “Jeez, manslaughter?”

“We need to find out more.”

Reina came back with a tall glass of ice water. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make it sound like Jason coulda killed Bethany. He loved her. We all did. He was just so ashamed.”

“Because of her deformity?” I asked.

“Oh no, he didn’t care about that. It was just that he had no idea she was being attacked. There he was on the property, and he never heard a thing.”

I could see what she meant. Pearlie and I walked into the barn and watched him work, and he never knew we were there until we walked into his field of vision.

“You said he loved her. Were they a couple?” I asked.

“Bethany always said his affections were misplaced. She called it transference. She was like a therapist, you know? She was good with people, really good.”

Pearlie scribbled in her notebook.

“Does Jason drive a white truck?” I asked.

“Yeah, he has a white truck. All those huge sculptures, you know? He has a trailer too. Some of his pieces are pretty heavy.”

A big white truck barreling down on us—Jason would know about that shortcut to the highway. But why would Jas
on want to run us off the road?

We made our excuses and left.

“Sort of makes Jason look like a suspect, but I just can’t quite wrap my head around it,” I said.

“No, but I am interested in how Reina heard about Bethany’s cell phone and laptop before we did,” she said.

“Mac showed us the evidence list, maybe he just did what we would’ve done, ask Reina and Jason if they noticed any missing items.”

“Then let’s ask him.”

Mac Coker opened the door with a dishtowel flung over his neatly pressed white dress shirt. “Hello, girls. Do you have something to report?”

“May we come in?” Pearlie asked.

“Please do,” he said, and waved us inside. “I was cleaning cupboards and laying mousetraps. This place is overrun with vermin.”

We followed him into the kitchen.

“First of all,” Pearlie said, “did you know that the police have discovered a drug drop behind the property?”

He blinked. “I guess I’m not surprised. Bethany said she’d found cigarette butts, and not just one or two, but ten at a time. It made her uncomfortable. That’s why I had Jason put in the security lights around the perimeter.”

Under the table Pearlie nudged my leg, telegraphing the message. I knew what she was thinking; Jason told us it was his idea to put in the security lights. So who was lying?

“Did she call the sheriff’s department?”

“Bethany didn’t like the idea of strangers coming out here. She scooped up the butts and put them in the burn barrel. Who told you about the drug drop?”

“Reina,” Pearlie said. “She says deputies found bundles of marijuana hidden in a cavern behind your property
.”

“That would explain the bird calls I heard at night. They could’ve been here
every night and—” He stopped drying his hands on the towel. “She had a phone in her room. Why wouldn’t she call the police if she suspected—”

“She did. She called 9-1-1, remember? And Wishbone’s police chief responded.”

“In broad daylight,” he said, looking out of the kitchen window to where a hidden cavern was used as a drop-off and pick up for drug traffickers.

“We found a shortcut behind this property, Mac. It’s nothing more than a rutted trail, but it’s a convenient and direct route in and out to Highway 92. The detective
s must’ve found it too, and discovered the cavern.”

“My daughter would never stand for anyone bringing in dope. She must’ve called 9-1-1
after spotting one of them.”

Mac had a point, and the results had been tragic for Bethany. It was also obvious why Julio would be their primary suspect. He had reason to be here, he had the contacts, and he knew how much the owner insisted on maintaining her privacy. But if Reina was to be believed, that Julio was innocent, there might yet be others who saw the opportunity in this remote location.

“You said the UPS guy and grocery store truck were the only regular visitors here,” I said. “Did she have any other outside contacts?”

“Only the gallery owners, and they
either e-mailed or Skyped when they needed to talk to her.” Mac lifted his face to the ceiling. Above his head was his daughter’s bedroom.

“Her window faces east. From the second story, she could’ve
looked out the window and seen someone.” Mac turned to the kitchen door, tracing the killer’s path with his hand. “He noticed her watching, came in through the kitchen with every intention of silencing her. He must’ve caught her just after she called 9-1-1.”

“The detectives are questioning a convicted felon with drug connections,” I said.

His fists clenched. “Do you have a name?”

Pearlie and I looked at each other.

“Mac,” I said, “before we answer that, can I ask you another question?”

“As long as you answer mine.”

“Did you show the evidence list to anyone, or did you tell anyone else what was in it?”

“Yes, I found it and asked Reina and Jason if they noticed anything missing.”

“And what did they say?”

He shrugged. “They couldn’t help. Now tell me, who is it?”

Pearlie blinked at me. We weren’t sure how he would take the news, but we had to tell him.

“Julio Castillo,” I said, watching for his reaction.

His mouth puckered in distaste. “He’s Reina’s boyfriend, right?”

Pearlie said, “Reina said he’s been clean since he got out.”

Mac spat a curse. “Like that means anything.”

“Mac, we can’t be sure of anything yet,” I said. “Not of Julio Castillo’s guilt on drug trafficking, or that he had anything to do with your daughter’s murder.”

His anger seemed to inflate with every word. “Reina knowingly allowed a dangerous criminal into my daughter’s home, that’s enough for me.”

“Mac. Don’t make me regret telling you about Julio Castillo
. Homicide may be questioning him, but there are plenty of other known drug dealers in the area. If they have enough to charge him for your daughter’s murder, you’ll know soon enough.”