Chapter Three

 

 

It took twenty minutes to get to Harris Methodist from Indian Creek with Kelly pushing it all the way. Inside the ER he scanned the room for blondes until his eyes focused on a slim figure huddled into an oversized plastic chair.

"You okay?" He bent over Gillian's chair and lifted her chin to look into her eyes.

"I'm so glad you're here." She lifted her eyes and a teardrop trickled down her cheek.

"Has anyone told you her condition?"

"Yes." Gillian's voice came out as a small squeak. "She's in a coma. The doctor wouldn't give me any details because I'm not family. Angelina's mom and sister just got here. They're meeting with the doctors now." Gillian's voice broke and her shoulders trembled under Kelly's arm.

"You need some coffee." Kelly crouched in front of her chair. "Why don't we take a walk down to the cafeteria? Can you handle a bowl of soup?"

"I couldn't eat, but coffee would be good."

They walked together down the steps and into the gleaming chrome and white cafeteria. Getting some coffee, they took their cups to a quiet corner table. A lush topiary garden screened their table and secluded them from other diners. Kelly waited while Gillian sipped her drink and settled before asking about the events of the morning.

After a short time she set her cup down.

"Angelina lives in one of those cottage apartments on the outskirts of Haltom City. I went straight to her place from the stable."

"Any idea how long it was from the time you left the stable until you called the paramedics?"

"It couldn't have been more than an hour. I drove straight there. Traffic was light. When Angelina didn't answer my knocking, I ran over to Sara's. It didn't take five minutes from the time Sara answered her door until we opened Angelina's."

"Was there any sign something was wrong when you opened the door?"

"No. We walked through the living room back to the bedroom. The door was closed so we knocked a few times. When Angelina didn't answer I opened the door. She was sprawled out on the bed. I thought she was dead at first, but I yelled at Sara to call the paramedics, and then I took her pulse. It was faint, but it was there. Sara went to the door to wait for the medics and I stayed with Angelina."

"Did it look like Angelina had put up a fight?"

"Not at all. Whoever did this must have caught her sleeping. The room hadn't been disturbed and there were no signs of a struggle."

"What about Sara, did you ask if she'd heard anything out of the ordinary before you arrived?"

"Yes. The walls aren't that thick in the complex and Sara is positive she'd have heard if there'd been a struggle. She and Angelina both live alone, so they've a pact to look out for each other. If Sara had heard anything that sounded like an attack on Angelina she'd have investigated. "

Thirty minutes dragged like thirty hours as they waited for news. When Kelly’s phone buzzed he stepped outside to answer. It was Gus.

“Any news?”

“No. She’s still in a coma. The doctor’s with the mother and sister now. There’s something I need to say though. I’m afraid I might have screwed up.”

“How’s that?”

“I overheard Angelina and one of the boys in the barn earlier this evening. They were talking about someone named Sam who apparently knows something about Larry’s death.”

“God damn it Kelly. You know better than to sit on something like that.”

“I know it Gus. I’ve been kicking my own ass ever since Gillian’s call. It’s a bit different though, not being official. I wanted to show Gilly some respect, let her talk to the girl. Besides I figured she’d get more out of Angelina than I would. That’s why Gillian went over there tonight. To find out what she knew.”

“Well it’s too late to cry now. What about this Sam? Does Gillian know him?”

“No. She knows who he is, but she doesn’t know anything about him.”

“How about the boy Angelina was talking to?”

“I don’t know. It could be any one of the five that work there. The voices were whispered and he didn’t ring any bells. You’re going to want to talk to all of them. I know them all, casually, and I tried to pin down the voice but nothing stuck.”

“Okay. We’ll save that for later. I’m on my way over there now. I’ll put a man on the girl’s door. Nobody in or out except family and Gillian.”

“Thanks. It’ll help if you let the doctor know that I’m assisting. Right now he’s not speaking to anyone except family.”

“I’ll talk to him. See you in ten.”

Back inside Kelly found Gillian with an older woman who had to be Angelina’s mother, and the sister, a girl of about fourteen.

“Kelly, this is Mrs. Morales and Juanita,” Gillian performed introductions.

“I’m so sorry about Angelina.” Kelly covered the older woman’s hand with his own. “Did the doctor have any idea how long she might be unconscious?”

“He doesn’t know,” she sobbed. “He says there might be brain damage. They can’t tell yet. Why would anyone hurt my Angelina? She’s a good girl. She’s never in trouble. All she does is work and study. Ms. Gillian will tell you. Angelina is never in trouble.”

“Please, Mrs. Morales, we know she hasn’t done anything wrong. What we’re afraid of is that Angelina saw or heard something, something to do with the young boy who was murdered last night.”

“But she didn’t know anything about that. I called her this morning. She said she didn’t know anything. She promised me she didn’t know why the boy was killed. My Angelina is a good girl.”

“You must be Juanita.” Kelly turned to the young girl who stood behind her mother.

Brown eyes widened and she ducked her head shyly.

“Did you ever hear your sister mention the name Sam?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Have you ever seen your sister with any of the boys from the stable?”

The girl darted a look at her mother and then looked at Gillian.

“It’s okay Juanita.” Gillian reached out and took the girl’s hand. "We only want to find out who might have hurt Angelina. Anything you tell us that will help catch whoever did this will be helping to protect your sister.”

“She sometimes went walking with the boy who was killed.”

“No!” Mrs. Morales wailed.

Juanita cowered at the shout from her mother, but she stiffened her shoulders and nodded her head yes.

“She did Mama. She knew you didn’t like him, so she met him in secret. She made me promise not to tell you when she slipped out to meet him. Angelina said they were just friends, but I followed her one night and I saw her kiss him.”

“Thank you Juanita,” Gillian jumped in before the woman could scold her daughter. “You’ve been very helpful to your sister and we really appreciate your honesty. I know your mom understands that you were only protecting Angelina.”

Gillian placed her arm around the older woman’s shoulder. After a moment of composure Mrs. Morales reached out and embraced her daughter.

The sound of heavy footsteps outside the small visitor’s room announced the arrival of Gus and two uniformed officers. Kelly left the women and joined Gus in the hallway. “Any news?” Gus asked.

“Angelina is in a deep coma and according to the doctor they have no idea when or if she will regain consciousness."

“That bad. I’ll go have a talk with the doctor. This is Deputy Raymond,” Gus indicated the tallest of the officers standing to his right, “and Deputy Williams,” he motioned towards the shorter of the two. “They’ll be on the door in alternating four hour shifts.”

“Glad to meet you Deputy Raymond, Deputy Williams,” Kelly shook hands with the men and fell into step with Gus who led the men to the nurse’s station. He introduced them to the charge nurse and inquired about the doctor’s whereabouts.

“It’s Dr. Winchester,” the nurse told Gus. "He’s probably doing his charts. It’s four doors down on the left. You can catch him there."

They found Dr. Winchester bent over a pile of charts. Gus made introductions and explained that the two officers would remain on duty outside Angelina’s door for the foreseeable future.

The doctor confirmed the girl’s diagnosis and promised to contact Gus if there was any change. Gus also cleared Kelly and Gillian for access to Angelina’s room.

“I’m going to tackle those kids first thing in the morning,” Gus said, as he and Kelly headed for the elevators.

“Great. I need to take Gillian home now. Hopefully she’ll get a few hours’ sleep. I’ll stay out there tonight, and if it’s okay I’ll join you in the morning.”

“Good. You know most of those kids. That should help establish a rapport, and hopefully you’ll spot anything hinky.”

Kelly and Gus parted at the elevator and Kelly returned to the visitor’s lounge.

“Gus and I have spoken with the doctor,” he told Gillian. “Things are just as Mrs. Morales described them. I think, and the doctor agrees, that everyone should go home now and get some sleep.”

“But shouldn’t I stay with Angelina?” Mrs. Morales was obviously looking to Kelly for guidance.

“The nurses will take good care of Angelina. It’s you and Juanita we need to worry about now. The doctor explained that this is going to be a long haul. It won’t help Angelina if you get yourself sick.”

“Kelly’s right,” Gillian said to the older woman. “Did you drive or do you need us to drop you off?”

“We came in a taxi. I’m going to call my husband to come and get us after he gets off work. He’ll want to sit with Angelina for a while, and then, as you say, we’ll all go home and get some rest.”

“Excellent.” Kelly patted the older woman’s arm and then turned to Gillian. “Are you ready to go home now? I think we could all use some rest.”

“Yes. I’m ready. Mrs. Morales, you’ll call me if you need anything won’t you?"

“Of course. Thank you so much.”

Kelly and Gillian headed for the Jeep in the parking lot. They hadn’t gone a mile before Gillian dropped off to sleep with her head resting on Kelly’s shoulder.

At the ranch, Kelly opened the door on Gillian’s side of the Jeep and picked her up in his arms.

“You don’t have to carry me. I can walk,” she mumbled an objection.

“Shhh! Humor me, okay? You’ve had enough for one day. Close your eyes and I’ll have you undressed and tucked in before you have a chance to blink.”

 

* * *

 

The next morning Gus arrived while Kelly was on the porch having coffee.

“I’ve got your cup right here,” Kelly said as Gus mounted the steps. “Gillian’s out at the stables. I said I’d let her know when you arrived. She’ll send the stable hands in, one at a time, whenever you’re ready. You can fix a couple of biscuits while I tell her you’re here.”

“I can handle that.” Gus pulled up a chair, poured a cup from the steaming carafe and reached into the basket for a couple of Gillian’s buttermilk biscuits.

At the barn, Kelly found Gillian and two of the workers forking hay from the loft down into the mangers.

“Gus is here and ready whenever you are,” he called up.

Gillian poked her head over the railing. “Can you give us another ten? We’ve just about filled the mangers. Mike and I will start grooming and Kevin can go talk to Gus.”

“Sounds good.”

Back at the house Gus had polished off the basket of biscuits and settled into his chair with a fresh cup of coffee.

“They’re just finishing with the hay. Gilly will send Kevin along first. He should be here in ten minutes or so. Did you get enough coffee?”

“Plenty. I made short work of those biscuits. If I don’t see the chef, be sure and give her my compliments.”

Kelly laughed. “Gillian will like that.”

Kelly settled down beside Gus in the other oversized deck chair. They sipped coffee in the peaceful dawn.

“How’s Jake been keeping?” Gus asked.

“I don’t think that old shepherd is ever going to slow down. He’s frisky as a pup. I stopped by the Hideaway last night and he about knocked me off the porch.”

“He was probably letting you know he’d had enough of being a house guest.”

“Don’t I know it. It’s been nice of Darlene to keep him, but with all her cats I’ve a feeling my name is probably ‘Mud’ in dog lingo.”

“Oh God yeah. She must have half a dozen of those fur balls hanging around.”

“I’m planning to stay with Gillian for the time being. I’ll run out to the Creek and pick Jake up later tonight.”

“I like the idea of you staying here until we figure out what this killer’s all about. It might, as I know you realize, be about drugs, but it doesn’t smell right.”

“I agree. I’ve been out of the racket for quite a while now, but I think I’d recognize the signs, something you never forget. This one doesn’t fit. I thought I’d call a couple of the guys I knew back in the day and run the names of these kids by them. If there’s anything to do with drugs going on, one of those names is bound to pop. That is if you don’t have any objection?”

“Not at all. I was working up to asking if you were comfortable getting in touch with some of your old contacts.”

At that point a tall skinny kid with sandy hair and a mouthful of braces opened the gate and approached the two men on the porch.

“Gillian said you wanted to see me.” The young lad climbed the steps and stopped in front of Gus. “I'm Kevin Holmes.”

“How are you Kevin?” Gus shook hands and motioned towards Kelly. “I guess you know Kelly McWinter.”

“Yes sir.” He nodded at Kelly and turned his head back to Gus.

“Make yourself comfortable.” Gus motioned to one of the chairs and waited while Kevin perched himself tentatively on the edge of the seat.

“Of course you realize we’re inquiring into the death of one of your coworkers. I think the best way to approach this is for you to tell us as much as you can about Larry and anything in his life that might have precipitated the kind of violence that led to his death.”

“We weren’t really buds. I just kind of knew him from work. He was okay, but kind of, I don’t know, flaky I guess you’d call it.”

“What do you mean by flaky?”

“Well, for instance, he didn’t like to work too much, so if we took in a new horse or something came up that meant we’d have a busy day, he’d probably get sick and not come in that day. Stuff like that.”

“Okay. How about his relationship with the others? Did he get along? With Larry being a slacker is it possible he made someone angry enough to start a fight?”

“Nah, nothing like that. He wasn’t a regular, you know, just a casual. We all liked Robin better, but she’s a girl.” Kevin grinned a bit and then ducked his head back down.

“So as far as you know there wasn’t anything to do with the job that might have led to violence?”

“No sir. Nothing. I don’t guess any of us considered Larry a pal, but nobody hated him either.”

“What about Larry’s friends. Did you know any of them?”

“No. Sorry, like I said, we weren’t buds.”

“All right. Thank you Kevin. Anything else you can think of that might be worth checking. It doesn’t have to relate just to Larry. What I’m looking for is anything that might have seemed unusual, out of the ordinary.”

“Well. You mean like Angelina telling Sam he wasn’t allowed to come around the stables when Gillian wasn’t home?”

“That’s exactly what I mean. Who is this Sam? And when did Angelina run him off?”

“I think he’s a friend of Clinton, Larry’s brother. I don’t usually work on Saturday but Robin had a test to study for so she asked me if I’d take her shift.”

“And that’s when you met Sam?”

“That’s right. Larry and I were mucking out the barn. It was about eleven-thirty when he showed up. Larry said they were supposed to have lunch and did I mind if he knocked off early. I told him he needed to help me finish the mucking out first. Like I said before, he always tried to get out of the crappy jobs.”

“Was it because Larry wasn’t getting his work done that Angelina told Sam he’d have to leave?”

“Nope. Sam went over and sat at the break table while Larry and I finished the mucking out. Angelina was in the office, but she came out to the barn for something and that’s when she got into it with Sam. I didn’t really hear what they said, just the last part, when Angelina told him to get out. She yelled at him, and that was unusual. Angelina never raises her voice to anyone.”

“What about Larry. Do you think he knew what Angelina was upset about?”

“Maybe you should ask Angelina about that.” Kevin’s face flushed and he dropped his eyes to stare at his hands.

Gus left it alone. “We’ll be talking to Angelina this evening. Anything else?”

“No sir. Nothing.”

“Would you mind sending Mike along when you get back to the barn.” Gus stood up to indicate the interview was over and Kevin hurried down the steps and out the gate to the stable yard.

“Well that was interesting.” Kelly stretched his long legs and shifted around in the chair. “Gives a bit more credence to our drug theory.”

 

* * *

 

Mike turned out to be the antithesis of Kevin. Short and pudgy, with curly brown hair and an easy grin, the young man said hi to Kelly, introduced himself to Gus and settled comfortably into the chair vacated by Kevin.

“I told the others Larry didn’t off himself.” Mike’s nose twitched like a weasel scenting food. “I guess you being here means it’s murder, right?”

Gus scowled. “We’re doing a preliminary investigation. Suppose you tell us everything you know about what happened on Saturday.”

“Well. I wasn’t here, of course. But there’s been talk. Larry was kind of a rotter. I suppose you’ve found that out.” Mike kept his eyes fixed on Gus while he talked. “I’m a criminology student, you know. This the first opportunity I’ve had to get in on the ground floor, so to speak, in an investigation. I’ve been asking questions right and left.”

“That so.” Gus squinted a bit, and Kelly knew he was taking Mike’s measure, deciding how much room he wanted to give the kid.

“Find out anything useful?” he asked.

Mike’s eyes lit up. Apparently Gus had decided he might be helpful and you’d have thought the boy had struck gold.

Larry won’t like it that I’ve told you this, but it’s murder, right?” Mike paused, hoping for confirmation, but Gus waved for him to continue and the boy went on with his story.

“It was Sunday morning. Toby came in to work and found Larry sleeping one off in the manger.”

“Was Larry supposed to be there on Sunday?”

“No. Toby and Robin work Sundays. Larry knows he’s not supposed to hang around the stables when he isn’t working, but Miss Gillian was out of town and Larry liked pushing his luck.”

“Okay. So Larry was sleeping it off in the stables. I assume he and Toby had a conversation that might be relevant to Larry’s death.”

“That’s right.” Mike flashed a huge grin and nodded his head up and down.

“According to Toby, Larry had been out partying Friday night, and since he was scheduled to work Saturday morning, he decided to crash in the barn. Like I said, he knew Ms. Gillian was out of town.”

“Then what?”

“Early Saturday morning Larry heard loud voices coming from down below in the barn. As soon as he realized that a couple of people were having an argument, Larry crawled over to the edge of the manger to see who was talking.”

“And did he find out?”

“Yep. It was Sam, a friend of Larry’s brother Clinton. Of course that piqued Larry’s interest, because Sam is a drug dealer, just small time, but Larry figured if he eavesdropped maybe he’d find out enough to get himself a stash.”

“And the second person?

“Dr. Morgan, the veterinarian who looks after Miss Gillian’s horses. Larry couldn’t hear it all, but it sounded like Sam was threatening the doctor.”

“Did he say what kind of threat?”

“He wasn’t sure. He heard something about Oxycontin—that’s what got Larry’s attention—and then their voices got low, and then Sam said, ‘you either come through or I’ll be spreading it around.’”

“Did either of them realize that Larry was in the hayloft?”

“The doctor didn’t. He told Sam he’d see him later and left. Larry figured he was clear, but once the doctor left Sam yelled at Larry to get his ass down from the hayloft.”

“Do you think Sam was mad enough to do Larry an injury?"

“No. Sam’s a punk, but he’s not a killer. Besides, Larry said Sam claimed he’d misunderstood the conversation.”

“How’s that?”

“According to Sam he and the doctor were arguing about the medication the doctor had given Sam’s friend for his horse. Apparently the doctor had given his friend Oxycontin, but the horse died. Sam’s friend wanted a refund but the doctor said he had to pay for the medicine even if it didn’t work.”

“What did Larry think about that?”

“He still thought something was fishy, but he pretended to accept Sam’s explanation. Then, according to Toby, Larry went to the office to see Angelina. He’s got a bad crush on her, and I guess he figured if he couldn’t get anything out of Sam he’d use the information to get on the good side of Angelina.”

“What did Angelina have to say?”

“She told Larry that seeing as how Gillian’s boyfriend was a detective,” Mike grinned over at Kelly, “they should wait until Gillian returned and tell her everything so she could decide what needed to be done.”

“And that was the last time Toby talked to Larry?”

“No. Not quite. Larry told Toby that after he’d talked to Angelina, he went back to the barn and went to work. It was towards the end of the day when the doctor showed up at the barn to tend to one of the horses.”

Both Gus and Kelly perked up at the mention of the doctor’s return.

Mike shifted in his chair and smiled, apparently pleased to have recaptured their attention.

“Toby told me that Larry was still bugged about Sam’s story so he decided to quiz the doctor.”

“Not the brightest kid on the planet,” Kelly muttered.

“Nope. Anyway, the doctor backed up Sam’s story, and when Larry told him that he’d told his girlfriend Angelina about the conversation, he accused Larry of being a trouble-making little rat. Said he’d discuss it with Gillian himself, and for Larry to get the hell out of his sight.”

Mike looked from Gus to Kelly and beamed at both of them. “I guess you’ll want to be talking to the doctor now?”

Gus stood up. “You’ve been very helpful. As a criminology student I’m sure you’ll appreciate the importance of keeping the information you’ve given us confidential.”

“Oh sure.” Mike jumped up from his chair and nodded his head vigorously. “I won’t say a word. You can count on my discretion.”

“Thank you. We’ll be in touch,” Gus said, and Mike reluctantly headed back to the barn.

“He sure would have liked to tag along when you went to question the doctor.” Kelly laughed when Gus gave him a scowl.

“Just what I need. Wet nursing. I’ve got to admit the kid gave us some interesting information.”

“I imagine the doctor’s at the top of your agenda. Would you like me to check with Toby and see what he has to say about Mike’s story?”

“That’d be good. Why don’t you follow up that end while I go have a few words with the good doctor.”