The Village went all out for a fourth of July parade, family picnics in the park, band concerts in the park gazebo and the usual boring political speeches.
The Normal Memorial Library had invited people in to see their renovations and to sign for a library card. Business places had sent flowers and good wishes. Jason sent a potted Elegant Twist Bamboo for the front area and a gorgeous Double Pink Azalea that could be enjoyed inside and then planted out front.
Beth returned on the fifth of July, giddy and full of stories about where they had been and what they had seen. She was busy settling in the home that she and Darrell had bought. Darrell’s father had paid the down payment on the house as a wedding present. There was loads of furniture from both sets of parents that had been in the families for years. There was little Beth had to buy for her house. Jason was amazed that she was so thrilled with the antique furniture.
Greg was back and Jason secretly thought he looked more rested and more at ease. The four of them were kept surprisingly busy. Jason began to think he needed to hire an additional person because the work was coming in as if he had wished on a magic ring.
Finally in the first week of August Jason was able to drop in at the Perfect Spouse. There were not many people present. He was delighted to meet a new member, a Greek young woman by the name of Zohra Demopoulos. He joked with her that she was named after Zorro. She said he was very clever, and, she added ducking her head, very handsome.
Jason’s crew stayed so busy he remarked that it was almost as bad as being during tax time. He was shocked and pleased. He hadn’t been open a full year and was now contemplating hiring a fourth worker.
The last week in August Beth breezed in so thrilled and filled with happiness that all of them thought she might be expecting. “No!” she stated emphatically. “I just wanted to show you what my plans and hard work have done.” She held up a college diploma stating that Elizabeth Mitchell Carson had gotten her degree with honors. Jason made arrangements for all of them, Darrell included, to have supper at the hotel one night and celebrate with Beth.
August rolled into September with little temperature changes. The nights were cooler, but flowers were blooming every where one looked and birds of all kinds were winging through the village singing their songs of joy.
* * * * *
Steve began to talk again about returning to Texas. His family and co-workers were anxious about him. He had made such close friends that he hated to leave.
One chilly night, Jason, Nigel, Gary and Steve had supper at Jason’s house and then decided to take a walk. They were subdued because Steve wasn’t really happy about leaving and they hated to see him go. The four young men had formed a close group.
They walked down Main Street and as they passed the alley between the hardware store and the restaurant, Gary caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked into the alley and yelled, “Hey, there.” He took off running down the alley with it getting darker as he went into it.
The other three took off after him, but Steve quickly passed him and tackled the man that Gary had seen. The man began to threaten and bluster, but Steve and Gary held on. Jason took in a quick breath thinking he recognized the voice.
“Let me go. You’ve made a mistake. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Then why did you run so fast?” Steve asked.
“Well, if you were in a dark alley and several big men came running at you, wouldn’t you try to get away?”
“Maybe, in some cases, but not here in the Village.”
By then they had forced the man to the sidewalk and under the light.
“Oh, I can’t believe it.” Gary exclaimed.
“Holy Catfish,” Nigel spluttered.
“Tell me it isn’t so. Joseph Harper. What were you doing down there and why did you run?” Jason spoke with authority.
“I told you why I ran. Now take your hands off me or I’ll sue every one of you for false arrest and kidnapping.”
Steve laughed aloud and held up what he had gone down in the alley to get. He had seen Joe throw something at the dumpster and went back to get it. “Do any of you know what these are?”
Gary, Nigel and Jason looked carefully at the clothes. “These look like Margaret’s clothes,” Gary almost shouted. “Joe Harper, did you kill her?”
“You can’t pin that on me. I will sue young man.”
Jason asked everyone to listen. “I think, to be on the safe side, we’d better take him to Chief Mason and notify Detective Snouder. Let them decide what happens next.”
Joe Harper began to plead with them to let him go and that they were mistaken. He even shed a few tears begging them not to do anything that would break Elaine’s heart.
Chief Mason said, “You should have thought of Elaine before you started your life of crime.” He stated when Joe repeated his plea.
“I’m NOT a criminal. Please let me go.”
Detective Snouder came struggling in. It was obvious that he had hoped to get to bed early. It was now nine.
“Well, well. What have we here? Give me your story from the beginning, Mr. Harper and make it good. I’m in no mood for frivolity. This is one arrest that has taken me by extreme surprise.” Det. Snouder was angry.
Joseph Harper looked around at the men in the interrogation room. A defeated expression crossed his face and he hung his head mumbling.
“Speak up, man. We’re not here to hang you or shoot you at sunrise. We’re just trying to make sense out of this whole horrid mess.”
Joe slowly lifted his head and started talking. “Jason, remember the night that Margaret gave you such a miserable time and the other men told her to get lost?”
Jason nodded but said nothing. He grabbed a straight chair, turned it around and straddled it backward, listening intently.
“Well, Elaine and I talked to her about her behavior. Some of the women had tried to help her and she had just cursed them. We tried to help her, but it was obvious we were wasting our time. I told her if she didn’t straighten up we would not renew her membership. She left cursing us and threatening all kinds of reprisals.”
“The following day, Elaine and I had finished dinner and I went out to get a breath of fresh air and look at the stars. Margaret didn’t even live in our area but she came walking by. I ran out to the sidewalk to try to reason with her again. She lunged at me saying she was going to claim I tried to sexually assault her. She tried to hit me in the face and scratch me. I pushed her away and she fell backward striking her head against the stone wall. It was one of those weird accidents. I panicked when I discovered she had died. I knew it would just kill Elaine.”
He looked around but no one said anything. He took a deep breath and continued. “Elaine was in the shower so I called that I was going out for a few minutes. I backed the car out, pulled the body into the back seat and drove around. I was not thinking clearly. Finally I went by the alley and saw the dumpster. I had read about people taking the clothes from someone to keep them from being identified. I know now that was foolish. I took her clothes and threw them back in my car and left her in the dumpster.”
“I was so frightened when I went home. I put the clothes in a lawn bag and hid them in the garage. When I went inside, Elaine was in bed reading but very sleepy. I kissed her and she complained about me being so cold from being out in the cold air. I took a hot shower and went to bed. You know what happened after that.”
Chief Mason just looked sad. Snouder shook his head and said, “You know if you had called the police that night, you would only have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. You might have gotten off with a year or two and community service. With the people in the agency testifying about Miss Archer’s behavior, you might have just gotten community service. When you hid the body, you committed another offense. Now you’ll be tried for murder, obstructing justice and goodness knows what all.”
Nigel broke in angrily. “Why did you try to kill Alice Daniels? She was an innocent person in this whole mess.”
“I wasn’t trying to kill her. I got scared when Elaine went into the garage hunting for something. I was afraid she’d find those clothes so I was trying to dispose of them. Alice was walking through the alley and saw me. She started to scream and I was trying to put a hand over her mouth. When Gary came running toward me, I dropped her and, taking the clothes, ran. I was again trying to get rid of the clothes when you saw me this time. It’s plain fate. Gary Beaumont both times.”
“It was too dark for Alice to recognize me. I didn’t know who she was until I heard about it. I’m sincerely sorry but no one will believe me now.”
“It’s going to be difficult for anyone to believe you. Officer,” Chief Mason spoke to a policeman that was in the room. “Detective Snouder, do you want to leave Mr. Harper with me tonight or do you want to take him on to the county?”
“Let’s leave him with you for tonight and I’ll talk to a judge before you hear from me again. Thank you, gentlemen, for notifying me. My wife doesn’t thank you. She says I never get to spend a quiet evening at home any more and that she might as well not have a husband.” Snouder gave a sad, twisted smile. “She does understand about my work, but it is hard on any woman to be married to an officer in any branch of the law.”
Det. Snouder left and Chief Mason told the officer to place Mr. Harper in a cell by himself.
“What about Elaine?” he spoke loudly. “She’ll be so worried. I don’t know what time it is. You took my watch and everything.”
Jason answered, “It’s eleven fifteen. She’s probably asleep by now. Do you want us to disturb her now or wait until morning?”
“I don’t want her disturbed at all, but if she wakes and can’t find me, she’ll be frightened.”
“I’ll send officers, a woman and a man, to tell her where you are. She will probably want to see you, but she’ll have to wait until morning now.
I’m sorry for her and sorry for you that you made an unwise decision.”
“Be sure your sins will find you out,” Jason quoted.
The four young men left and walked back to Jason’s. It was not a pleasant evening for them.
“Well, I’m glad now that I didn’t leave earlier,” Steve commented. “I wasn’t here when Miss Archer was found but you told me about it, and, being in law enforcement, I was interested in the case. I’ll stick around a little longer. I’d like to be here for the arraignment at least. Good night my friends. How God has blessed me with your friendship.”
The men parted and went their way.