Page 29 of Tastes Like Misery

Eyes widening like saucers, he shook his head, “No. That’s not right. I would never do that.” Starting with a gag, he bent over and puked right on the concrete floor, making my own stomach churn more than it already was.

Once he stopped, I handed him a handkerchief. Wiping his mouth, he tried to hand it back, but I sure didn’t want that, “You keep it. I’m going to have to bring you in. Look, I know we’ve had some good laughs about places I’ve found you over the years, but this is serious, Johnny. You’ll have to see the judge this time. I’m going to let you call your wife, but I have to arrest you after.”

His face was ghostly pale and if I hadn’t witnessed his position myself, I might have felt bad for him. But to do what it looked like he did, it was a level of disgusting, illegal behavior I couldn’t ignore.

Passing the McMillans, I led him out to my car, cursing to myself about the mess I’d have to clean up. I put him in the back seat and handed him my cell phone, his own missing from his pockets and probably in his car. I left him to call his wife while I spoke to Homer, getting his statement officially so I could start the charges.

When he was done, he told me she didn’t answer, but he left a message. I only hoped he didn’t leave her a message detailing his drunken escapade. That woman didn’t need any more stress.

I asked Homer, “Any chance you’ve seen his car around? I didn’t see it coming in, and I wonder if it’s out in one of your fields.”

“Nope. We haven’t been out there yet. I’ll keep an eye out when I do this afternoon and call if I see it,” Homer answered in that tired voice of his. “Did you find out if he sullied my cow? I’m going to need some compensation if he ruined her. She’s one of my best producers of manure, and her teats produce milk like no other. She’s worth a lot.”

“I need to question him more. It seems he’s lost his memory. I’ll make sure he has the charges, and it’s up to the judge if you get restitution or not.”

Homer’s face fell since I didn’t give him a guarantee, but I still needed to do things by the book. “I’m going to form a search party. See if we can find his car. It might hold clues to how he ended up out here and see if there’s anything to help the case against him. Would it be alright if we searched your property?”

“Yeah. Anything we can do to get this moving along so I can be paid for my losses.”

“Great. If you see anything or remember something else, give me a call. I’ll let you know when the search party will start.”

Going back to my car, I found Johnny with his head in his hands and his shoulders shaking. Opening the back, I grabbed my cell from him, not wanting to forget it later. This whole thing weighed on me heavily and I felt bad for Heidi. A storm was coming, and I didn’t know if she could withstand it. Not this time.

After securing my phone, I climbed into the driver’s seat and radioed dispatch, letting Claire know I’d be taking a suspect in for questioning. With only two of us working this county, they needed to know I’d be away unless it was an emergency. Anything simple, the sheriff on the other side could handle if it couldn’t wait for however long it took.

Driving to the station, I kept an eye out for his car but didn’t see it. I’d take care of a search party as soon as I got back to the station where all my contacts were. We had plenty of volunteers and it had gotten us through all this time. This time, I wondered if I should hire another deputy or two. I wasn’t getting any younger and it would be good to have another one to train. Maybe one day they would be elected to my position and I could retire.

The radio crackled, coming to life just as I pulled into the station. I had Claire repeat it, not believing what I heard. “Two dead at the bank. The drawers are all cleaned out and we don’t know the status of the vault. No one can get in.”

“I’ll be on my way,” I responded, whipping into my spot and pulling Johnny into the station. I gave him some water and snacks from the vending machine before locking him in the cell. He’d sleep off whatever it was and I’d be back to question him at another time. The bank was a higher priority, and I ran out the door, putting on my lights and cruising at top speed to get to the same town Johnny lived in.

Pulling up, I secured the area, bile rising in my throat as I found Heidi and Charles dead on the floor behind the counter. It was hard to keep my emotions in check, knowing these people so well. Somehow, I’d have to tell Johnny about his wife’s death as he was facing charges no one should be a part of.

My deputy came in shortly after, his presence calming. He didn’t know these people as well as I did, since he was assigned to a different area. The calm, cool presence of Deputy Maney Hamer helped to ease some of the panic that rose when I stepped into the bank and found out it was all real. Murders we’d never had before in our county and it seemed a robbery as well.

He gave me a good-natured slap on the shoulder, “You want me to call in the feds?”

“Yes,” my voice hoarse, trying to keep my emotions in check. “I’ll start questioning the folks outside.” A crowd already started on the sidewalk and spilling into the street, no doubt the news was already delivered to every person in this peaceful little town.

I didn’t blame them since I’d been in law enforcement for darn near thirty years and only recall one murder, and that was a straightforward case of domestic, the husband turning himself in right there at the scene.

With a heavy sigh, I worked through the crowd, calming them as best I could, as each had a villain in their mind. Calvin Hines, Wayne Grant, Billy Driscoll, and even a woman, Vivian Parker. She spent a lot of time in the back of my squad car as a teen, but I didn’t think she’d be capable of this. To go from a few petty crimes as a dumb teen to robbery and murder - well, that just wasn’t right.

“I saw her car this morning. Parked down the road. I thought it was strange since she told Betty Connor she was leaving to go see her mama. They say she flew out last night after work. Betty didn’t think she was coming back and asked me if she could sell some of her things in my shop. I agreed, of course,” the thrift shop owner prattled on.

“You’re sure it was Miss Parker’s car?”

“Yes. Betty said Vivian was going to leave it parked behind the building until she got back or decided what to do with her mama. That’s why I thought it was so strange. But I figured she decided not to go. I was busy in the back as soon as I got in so I didn’t think nothing about it again until now.”

“You didn’t hear anything? Or see anything else?” I asked the same questions again as I had so many times already.

“Not a thing. You’d think a gunshot would be easy to hear. We all know how loud those are.” Tears pricked her eyes, “Poor Heidi. To think she was just a couple doors down bleeding to death and none of us knew.”

I patted her arm gently, “The building has a lot of security in the construction, which makes it more soundproof than others. None of us could have known.” Glancing up at the number of folks I still had to question, I straightened myself, “We’ll get whoever did this. If anything else comes to mind, you call me.” With a heavy sigh, I moved to the next person, hoping the federal boys would arrive quickly so we could take a look at the security footage. We just didn’t have the skills to do all the technical things. I cursed myself again for not hiring a younger deputy sooner, one who would have those skills. I also tried not to think about the drunk sitting in a cell who I’d have to inform his wife was gone. This long day just became longer.

Chapter 18

Vivian

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