Zeke (38 page)

Homicide in
Four Falls

Will spent a fitful night in the
unit next door to Zeke and Sue’s room. He jumped from bed and ran to the window
at the slightest sound, only to crawl back under the covers when it wasn’t them
returning.

Early the next morning, he found
the door to unit 15 still ajar and the room in exactly the same condition as it
had been the day before. He startled the housekeeper who rolled her cart to the
entrance as he was leaving.

“Oh. Sorry about that.” Will
glanced at her nametag. “Louise, I’m a private investigator. I’m looking for
the couple that stayed in this room. Did you see them?”

She shook her head, a dubious
expression on her face.

“Well, it was worth a shot, eh?”
Will tried a smile on the woman, but Louise didn’t respond and he gave up. She
stared after him as he returned to his own room.

Tired and cranky, Will rushed
through his shower, checked out of the motel, and drove to a travel plaza to
fill up with gas, clean his windshield, and grab some breakfast. Sitting in his
car afterward, he sipped coffee as he phoned Roxie.

“I don’t know which way to go,” he
complained. “North to St. Louis, southeast to Memphis, or west to who knows
where.”

“What about the list of abandoned
buildings we discussed? The ones for Missouri?” Roxie sounded as tired as he
felt.

“I just don’t know. Based on the
sheer number of derelict structures, I’d guess I should head north. But I might
be wrong, and I really feel like I’m closing in on them, as long as I don’t
take the wrong road. The thing is, there’s no rhyme or reason to their travels.
I sometimes wonder if this Zeke character is revisiting places that have some
special meaning only to him.” Will yawned.

“Maybe. Or maybe he did internet
searches just like we’ve done.”

“Talk to me a bit while I think,”
Will said, his voice softening. “How’s the weather up there?”

“Snowing like crazy and cold as a
witch’s heart.”

“Not much fun for stakeouts, hunh?”

Roxie harrumphed. “Don’t worry
about me. I have my thermos of hot coffee and long underwear. How’s your
weather?”

“Been enjoying a cold snap of my
own, freezing rain, and light snow. But I think I’m moving beyond its reach
now, fingers crossed on that. Any results on the cheating spouse?”

“Well, yes. Unfortunately, our
client was right; his wife
is
running around on him. In fact, she’s got
three guys on the side.”

“Three! Poor bastard! How’d he take
the news?” Will shook his head sadly, thinking of the man’s sorrow.

“I haven’t told him yet. I’m
meeting with him this afternoon.” Roxie clicked her pen, a habit she had when
nervous.

“I can tell it’s bugging you; I can
hear that pen clicking,” Will said with a small chuckle. “But, I can relate. I
hate giving bad news, too.”

Roxie sighed dramatically. “You
know me so well.” There was a slight pause as she changed gears. “The Morris
case is going well. So far, we’ve identified two employees pilfering supplies
from the warehouse and I think that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Old man
Morris wants us to stay on it, collect as much evidence as possible, and not
spook the thieves until we have everything we can possibly get.”

“Wonderful! We’ll be able to pay
our electric bill this month and next,” Will joked.

“True.” Roxie was silent, then
asked, “So, have you decided where you’re going yet?”

“I have.” Will took a deep breath,
preparing for her outburst. “I can’t quit thinking about that old barn. I’m
going back.”

“What? Will, that old geezer might
still be around. He’ll shoot you for sure this time! Besides, think of the time
you’ll lose!”

“I know. I know. But, I got the
weirdest feeling out there. And when I saw that skirt...”

“I hate to pull rank on you, Will,
but as your partner...” Roxie had that stern tone to her voice that said she
was ready to let him have it.

“Pull rank? Need I remind you I had
the business first, and brought you in later?” Will teased. “Anyway, don’t
worry; I know what I’m doing.” He disconnected before she could protest
further, and imagined her glaring at her phone, fuming. The image brought a
full smile to his lips and he hummed as he put the car in gear and pulled out
of the travel plaza, heading back the way he’d come.

He hadn’t driven far when his phone
rang. He glanced at the display. Uh-oh! Roxie.

“Hello.” Will braced himself for an
argument that never came.

“Will! The bank notified Mr. and
Mrs. Cox that Sue’s debit card was used last night!”

He pulled to the shoulder and put
the car in park. “Where?”

“Four Falls.”

“Let me get my map.”

“You don’t need it. Just head north
toward St. Louis. Four Falls is approximately halfway between there and where
you are now. When you get to Four Falls city limits, go to the Pump & Save.
It’ll be the first big convenience store you come to, on the right-hand side of
the road. You can be there in less than two hours.”

Will made a quick note. “Got it.”

They disconnected. Will checked the
road behind him and turned back the way he’d come. He pressed the gas, a small
smile on his face. He had direction to his search once more.

On the outskirts of Four Falls,
Will noticed a flurry of activity around a pair of abandoned steel buildings.
Several cop cars, lights flashing, were parked outside one of the buildings. An
ambulance idled nearby. Uniformed officers milled about. A chill traveled down
Will’s spine as he pulled onto the gravel road leading to the site. When he got
closer, an officer stepped in front of his car and signaled him to stop.

Will lowered his window and leaned
out. “What’s going on here?”

“Nothing you need to concern
yourself with. Please turn your vehicle around and go about your business.”

“You don’t understand,” Will
protested. “I’m a private investigator and I’m tracking a couple. A young girl
I think may be in trouble and a young man whom I believe is holding her against
her will.”

The officer considered this info
and then made a decision. “Sir, step out of the vehicle, please. And I’ll need
to see some identification.”

Will got out of the car and further
explained his interest as he handed the policeman his ID.

“Wait here.” The officer moved away
and spoke into his radio. He turned back to Will and handed him his ID.
“Detective Fryer will come out and speak with you.”

“But what happened? Can’t you tell
me that much?”

“Homicide. A woman.”

The shock hit Will in the gut,
nearly doubling him over. “Have you identified the body? Do you know who the
victim is?” He grabbed the officer’s sleeve, clearly a mistake.

The cop stared at Will’s hand on
his arm. “You want charged with Battery of a Law Enforcement Officer?”

“I apologize,” Will said
contritely. “I overreacted. It’s just concern about this young woman and...”
His words trailed off as a portly man in a brown suit and wool overcoat
approached.

“Mr. Falstaff? I’m Detective Fryer.
Let’s move over here where we can talk.” He led Will a few feet closer to the
building, but not into a position where he could see what was happening inside.

“Tell me about your case,” Fryer
said, watching Will with shrewd hazel eyes.

Will gave the detective an
abbreviated version of his case. When he had finished, Fryer pulled a bag from
his pocket. It contained a mangled credit card. “The girl you’re looking
for…Susan Cox? This is her bankcard. It was inside the room next to where we
found the victim.”

“Oh, god.” Will closed his eyes.
“Do you have a name for the victim yet?”

“No.” Fryer frowned. “But we know
she isn’t the girl you’re tracking. We ran
her
name through the system
and she doesn’t match the victim in any way, shape, or form. We assume the
victim had long blond hair since we found several clumps with pieces of scalp
attached.”

“Hold on.” Will frowned. “You
assume? Can’t you see her hair?”

Fryer cleared his throat. “The
head’s missing.”

“Missing? As in not on her body?”
Will paled.

“That’s right. She’s pretty cut up,
mutilated. If I had to guess the cause of death, I’d say blood loss, but of
course, we have to wait for the official verdict. The coroner is on his way. We
probably wouldn’t have even discovered the body this soon if it hadn’t been for
a realtor bringing a client out here, some big shot in manufacturing who’s
thinking about opening a plastics plant on this site.”

The detective continued speaking,
but Will didn’t hear anything after the description. He felt bad for the family
of the dead woman, but couldn’t help but be relieved it wasn’t Sue. A few
seconds later, his head cleared enough to register the fact that Sue’s card
had
been found at the scene. The detective’s next words hit home.

“We think your girl may be involved
in this killing, Falstaff.”

Will’s blood boiled and he grew
defensive. “Just because you found Susan’s card here doesn’t mean a thing. If
anything, she probably left it on purpose, hoping it would be found. I believe
she wants nothing more than to get away at this point. She’s most likely as
much a victim as that poor woman in there.”

“I don’t know about that.” Fryer
signaled another man, who had just exited the building, and waved him over.
“This is my partner, Dane Alter.”

Will shook hands with the man. During
the ensuing discussion, Will referred to his notes as he filled in the
detectives on details of his search, including information about the van Zeke
drove, and even the break-in at Doris’s house.

Fryer chewed his lip thoughtfully.
“Hold up a minute.” He left to speak to an officer and returned almost
immediately. “We’re putting an APB out for the van.”

Detective Alter looked at his
partner. “I’ll give the police a call over in Assaria and have them send us a
copy of the report on the break-in.”

“Sounds good.” Fryer nodded.
“There’s also that bunch that were partying here last night. We need to see if
we can round some of them up. Maybe they saw something.”

As they outlined their strategy, it
seemed as if they had forgotten Will for the moment. He stood patiently by. It
was also obvious they were keeping something from him. Furtive looks passed
between the two men. Finally, Alter seemed to come to a decision. Reaching into
his pocket, he withdrew a sealed evidence bag and slipped on a pair of latex gloves.
When he spoke, his voice was heavy with concern.

“Mr. Falstaff. We found something
else beside Miss Cox’s bank card.” He reached inside the bag and withdrew a
folded sheet of paper. He opened it and held it out for Will’s inspection.

Will, careful not to touch the
flyer, read with trepidation. MISSING, it said across the top. Under the word
was a grainy photo of a young girl with dark hair. In bold type, the girl’s
name stood out; Daisy Swak. Beneath that, a hotline phone number.

“Oh, lord.” Will ran a hand over
his face and stared at the picture.

“You know this girl?” Fryer asked.

“No. But I might know where to find
her.”

He proceeded to explain the flowers
the couple had purchased, and described his clash with the farmer outside the
old barn. The detectives listened with interest, making notes. Finally, Will
reached the end of what he knew.

“Mr. Falstaff, we can’t thank you
enough for the help you’ve given us. Did someone get your contact information?”

Will shook his head, reached for
his wallet, and extracted a business card.

Alter put it in his coat pocket,
turned to an officer nearby, and told him to contact the sheriff over in Chamberlain
County. “Get them out to that barn, ASAP.”

Finally, Fryer turned his attention
to Will. “You’ve done an outstanding job, Falstaff, excellent tracking. But
we’ll take it from here. We’ve got your number and we’ll keep you abreast of
any developments on our end.”

“Now hold on there,” Will objected.
“I’m not walking away from this. I was hired to do a job and I intend to do it.
I’m bringing that girl home to her parents.”

Detective Alter put a hand on
Will’s shoulder. “Don’t interfere in our investigation, Falstaff. It’s a law
enforcement matter now. It ceased to be a civil matter when that corpse was
discovered.”

Will realized it would get him
nowhere to argue. “Okay, no problem. I’ll leave it in your capable hands,
then,” he said disingenuously, teeth clenched. “I have something to give you,
though. The skirt I found at the barn.”

He went to his car and retrieved
the bagged garment. After handing it to Fryer, Will got into his car, backed
up, and returned to the highway. Minutes later, he pulled into the Pump &
Save where he discovered the ATM was located in a kiosk on the exterior of the
establishment. This probably meant no one saw Sue when she withdrew her money.
That didn’t stop him from checking with the clerk, however. As predicted, the
clerk saw nothing, but suggested it might have occurred on a different shift.

While he was there, Will bought a
pack of cigarettes, a large coffee, and a turkey sandwich. He left the store
and ate his sandwich in the parking lot, deep in thought. One of the derelict
buildings on Melvin’s list triggered his decision to continue north to St.
Louis.

After reporting the latest news to
Roxie, Will slowly reentered traffic, thinking about the building he planned to
visit next. It was a place he was practically positive Zeke couldn’t resist. He
hoped he was right.

Sad Angel of
St. Louis

Zeke barely contained his
jubilation as they passed through the quiet streets of Four Falls. Once out of
town, he let loose.

“Holy
shit
, that was hot!”
Zeke careened down the highway, deliberately swerving from side to side across
the empty road. “Whoo-hoo! What a fucking rush!” He howled like a wolf, shook
off another burst of manic excitement, and finally straightened the tires.
Flinging his hair back, he draped one arm over the wheel and turned to Sue, who
had been pulled from lethargy by Zeke’s spirited antics.