Belle was coming out of her house with Mr. Big tugging on his leash, but the little dog wasn't making much progress since Belle was stronger than he was, but that didn't stop him from trying.
I waved as I pulled into my driveway. When I parked in my carport, Belle and Mr. Big came to greet me.
“How did it go with the mayor?” she asked.
“She bought my painting.”
“Great news! Why don't you look happier?”
“Oh, Belle, I found out something that, well, let's just say it upset me, Come in, and I'll tell you all about it.”
“Do you mind if we go for a walk? Mr. Big's been antsy since I got up this morning. Some exercise will do him good.”
“Sure, let's do that. Laddie's always up for a walk.” He'd had one earlier, but the more, the better, as far as he was concerned. “I'll just be a second.”
I went into the kitchen while Belle waited outside for me to return with Laddie, who was, indeed, raring to go. He joyfully greeted his pal, and we started on our way.
Belle could barely contain herself as she waited for me to explain why I wasn't jumping up and down with glee over having sold one of my most expensive works.
I launched into my story and told Belle everything I'd heard Bob Gibbs say. “The man he was talking to has to be Eric's lawyer. He must be Josh's lawyer now. According to Chip, he's already indicated that the case isn't worth pursuing. The guy told Bob he was 'handling it.'”
“I'm confused,” Belle said. “Why would the mayor's husband be involved in any of this?”
“Remember the mayor's assistant who came to my studio tour on Friday?”
“Sure, the lonely young woman.”
“Right. You may not have heard everything she said, but she told me that Bob Gibbs was a silent partner in a helicopter tour business. Emphasis on 'silent,' I guess, because then she indicated that she probably shouldn't have told me that.”
“I see. The helicopter tour company may have been responsible for Eric Thompson's wife's death. I wonder why Eric waited so long to bring the suit.”
“According to Susan, he hadn't been functioning very well since his wife Natalie's death in the crash. Evidently, he hadn't decided until lately that he'd sue. We think he wanted to show Susan a copy of the lawsuit the night we found him. He'd told her he expected to come into a great deal of money soon.”
“Sounds as though that lawyer encouraged him.”
“Yes, it does, but, I'm guessing that when Gibbs found out from his partner that the company was being sued, he must have decided to bribe the attorney. Eric's death came at an opportune moment for him because Josh didn't know anything about the lawsuit. He only knows whatever Eric's lawyer has told him.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I think I should report it to the police and Josh, too. What do you think?”
“I agree. Hopefully, the police can get to the bottom of it, and Josh can get himself a different lawyer.”
An hour later, I was climbing the six steps to the door of the police station. A young uniformed officer I didn't recognize sat at the reception desk, but Dave Martinez was coming down the hallway as I entered, so I bypassed the young officer and waved to catch Dave's attention.
“Hi, Amanda. What's up?”
“I have a bit of a dilemma. I overheard . . . .” I stopped and looked around. The officer who was sitting at the reception desk didn't act as though he were paying any attention to us, and there was nobody else around except the three of us, but, just to be on the safe side, I motioned for Dave to come closer and lowered my voice to a whisper. I repeated what I'd heard of the conversation Bob Gibbs had had with Eric's—now Josh's—lawyer.
After listening attentively, Dave rubbed his chin and said, “Amanda, this situation is above my pay grade. Considering who's involved, I think you'd better talk to the chief. Come on back.”
He led me down the hallway to the chief's vacant office and asked me to take a seat while he went to find the chief. I'd never been in the chief's office before, but it was obvious from the no-frills room that he didn't care about the trappings of his office. “Bare-bones” and “no-nonsense” probably best described his style. My mind wandered as I sat there, waiting for him. I was wondering what had happened with the high school girl who'd thought bringing carrot bars to the Roadrunner's Christmas party would somehow be funny when Dave popped in to tell me the chief would be with me in about five minutes.
“Would you like some coffee while you wait, Amanda? I can grab you a cup.”
“No, thanks, Dave. I'm fine. I was just thinking about that girl who blew up our party Sunday night. Is she a part of the group being investigated?”
He raised his eyebrows. “You know about that?”
“I was there when the chief mentioned it to Rebecca at the reception Saturday afternoon.”
“I'm surprised he said anything about it.”
“He probably wanted to reassure Rebecca that none of the Pioneers had any involvement. She feels terrible that they sold those carrot bars, even though they had no way of knowing they were poisoned.”
“It's still under investigation; that's about all I can say. The chief may be willing to tell you more, but we haven't made any arrests yet. Believe me, you would have heard about it if we had. The reporters from our local media call constantly for updates.”
A few minutes later, as if to confirm what Dave had just told me, the chief came in, his cell phone to his ear.
“You can expect a press release this afternoon,” the chief said, ending his conversation. He took a seat behind his desk and set his cell phone down on top of it. “What's this Dave's been telling me about Bob Gibbs?”
I repeated my story, trying to remember the conversation I'd heard word for word. I couldn't quite do that, but I managed to convey the gist of it accurately.
“Are you absolutely sure that's what you heard?”
“I wouldn't be here if I weren't.”
“I don't have to tell you that the Gibbses wield some power in Lonesome Valley. The mayor's my boss, as a matter of fact, and Bob knows plenty of other influential people, so the situation is a political nightmare, to say the least.”
After hearing those words, I wondered whether the chief would investigate.
“You understand that what you've given me would be considered hearsay in court. The district attorney would need some solid evidence before bringing charges.”
“So you're not going to investigate?”
“I didn't say that. I'm going to have a talk with Bob, and we'll see what he has to say for himself. You have no idea who the lawyer was that Bob was talking to?”
“None. He never called him by name. He put the call on speaker, and I could tell that it was a man's voice, but Josh can give you that information.”
“It sounds as though that young man needs to find himself a new lawyer.”