Chapter 16

 

Through some detective work I’d located Kevan Willoughby. Why hadn’t the police located him? I suppose because he was actually living in an RV and moved around a lot. That had made finding him even more difficult. Dorothy and I had tracked the vehicle down and we were now sitting in my car, staring at the thing. It was parked in the nearby RV park. It wasn’t going to do us any good just staring at it though, so I knew that we had to make a move. Which meant either breaking into the thing or actually knocking on the door and confronting the guy. I didn’t think that would do much good because he wasn’t going to turn over the information I needed to know. We had to be sneaky about it so I intended on going inside whether he was there or not. This would be dangerous since he’d shot at us before. I was prepared for that if it happened again.

“Are you ready to do this?” I asked.

Dorothy put her knitting needles away. “No time like the present.”

After opening the car door I eased out and moved toward the RV. Dorothy and I inched closer to the RV. I wouldn’t be surprised if shots rang out as soon as I got near. Luckily, I had my gun with me. If need be, I’d use it.

Standing near the small door I decided to knock. I stood to the side a bit in case he fired his gun as soon as the door opened. Maybe I could pretend like I was selling something, or we were taking donations. Yes, that was it. No, wait. A guy who was potentially a criminal probably would tell me he wasn’t interested in donating. The door rattled as I knocked. Regardless of my excuse for being there, it seemed as if no one was home.

Moving around the RV I managed to peek into a window. There was no movement inside and it looked as if no one was home, unless he as sleeping. Dorothy had waited by the RV steps. I joined her again and wrapped on the door one more time. We waited for an answer, but no one ever came. I still didn’t know if he was inside or not.

“Guess we’ll have to go.” Dorothy offered me a mint.

I waved off the candy. “Look the doorknob is messed up. I think it’s broken.”

I pushed on it slightly and the door moved. 

“Nothing surprises me about this man,” Dorothy said.

“Maybe someone kicked the door in.”

“What do we do now?” Dorothy whispered.

“I guess open the door and see if he’s inside,” I said.

I grabbed the door knob and turned the handle, easing the door open in case anyone was standing right there. I leaned in just a little bit. No one was around, but then again, I wouldn’t know for sure because of all the junk piled around. This place was a real mess.

Dorothy peeked into the RV. “Wow, what a slob. Maybe I should go in and clean up for him.”

“You will do no such thing,” I said. “We have to go in there.”

“But what if he’s really in there?” she asked.

“That’s the chance we have to take.”

Dorothy and I walked up the rickety steps of the RV and stopped once inside the door.

“Where should we look first?” she whispered.

From the huge pile of clothing on the sofa, I couldn’t tell if someone was actually under there, or was it all dirty clothing? I eased over to the sofa and gently lifted up a piece of the clothing. Nothing underneath moved and I didn’t see anyone under there, so it was just a lot of dirty laundry. I couldn’t believe he had that much. He must have not washed any clothes for the last five years.

“He seriously needs to work on housekeeping skills.” Dorothy was right behind me now.

“Something tells me he’s not really worried about that, Dorothy,” I said. “I’m going to check the back and make sure he’s not here. In the meantime, you be on the lookout, okay? Call me if you see him coming. That’s very important.”

Dorothy gave a little salute. “I’ll let you know if I see him coming, got it.”

I eased down the tiny hallway and back to the bed area. I looked around, but didn’t see anyone. Next, I checked the small bathroom and even behind the shower curtain. No one was there.

I frantically searched through the RV. What I was looking for, I wasn’t sure. I even looked under the bed, but other than that, it was an empty space. I placed my hands on my hips. Dorothy tapped her finger against her lip in concentration.

“Oh, I forgot to check the driver seat area up there.” I pointed.

“Good thinking.”

I raced up to the front and rummaged under the seats. There was nothing but fast-food wrappers. Please don’t let me stick my hand in something I’ll regret. I pulled out a slip of paper. A time and location was written down. It was the time and place where Henry was killed. This was the smoking gun Jake needed, right? Or not so fast. For all I knew Kevan wrote this after Henry’s murder. Or maybe Henry asked Kevan to come with him to meet me. Or a dozen other innocent explanations. Nevertheless, I’d have to look into it. It was the best clue I had.

I waved the paper in the air. “I found something”

“What is it?” Dorothy asked.

“A note with the time and place Henry was murdered. I think this means we got the killer.”

“Great, now let’s get out of here before we get caught,” Dorothy said, motioning for me to come on.

I clutched the paper tightly in my hand and dashed toward the door, meeting Dorothy, who was anxiously waiting to get out of there. I wanted out of there just as much as she did. With her hand on the doorknob I stopped her.

“We have to look and make sure no one’s coming first. You don’t want to just run out of there.”

“Right. Good thinking.” Dorothy eased the door open and stuck her head out. She quickly came back in. “Someone’s coming.”

“Who’s coming?” I asked.

“The guy… he’s coming. What do we do?” she asked.

“Kevan?”

“Yes, that’s the one. Again, I ask what do we do?”

“I don’t know. Take a deep breath before you hyperventilate,” I said. “We have to hide.”

“Where are we going to hide? It’s like the size of a tin can.”

I scanned the space, looking for someplace that we could hide. I spotted the little closet and ran over to it.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Even your skinny rear end can’t fit in there, much less me too.”

“I love you, Dorothy, I really do. But you really need to get over here right now. We have to give it a shot. You can go first.”

“Why should I get in first?”

“Okay, fine, I’ll get in first.” I hopped into the closet and motioned for her to come next.

Dorothy stared for a moment

“Hurry,” I said.

Dorothy placed one leg in and then squeezed the rest of the way in, pulling the door shut. Luckily, the thing didn’t click shut all the way so I knew we wouldn’t be trapped in there. Unless of course someone purposely locked us in. With any luck they would never know we were in here. But how long would it be before the guy left again so that we could get out of there? What if he looked in the closet for something? There was nothing in here, but what if he wanted to put something in here?

“Something is activating my allergies.” Dorothy placed her finger under her nose.

“Dorothy, hold it in.”

“But I can’t control if I have to sneeze,” she said.

I placed my index finger up to my mouth so Dorothy would be quiet. The guy was talking. Who was he talking to? Himself? What a crazy. Then I heard the female voice.

“So this guy walks into a bar with asphalt under his arm. He asks the bartender for a beer and one for the road,” Kevan said.

She laughed at his lame joke. Seriously? Run while you have a chance. Did she really think that joke was funny?

“Sorry about all the mess,” Kevan said.

I was surprised that he was actually apologizing.

“That’s okay,” she said.

Dorothy and I exchanged a wide-eyed stare. Things grew quiet and they weren’t talking. What was going on out there? I was almost afraid to find out. Soon my question was answered when I heard the heavy breathing and moaning noises. It was terrible. It was almost worth being caught just to get out of there and escape this. I couldn’t handle it. I placed my fingers in my ears and so did Dorothy. They were making out.

I motioned toward the door, letting Dorothy know I was about to open the door. Slowly I inched open the door. The couple were on the sofa with their lips locked. I slipped down to the floor and gestured for Dorothy to do the same. Kevan and his friend still hadn’t stopped long enough to see us. I kept my gaze focused on them while Dorothy and I crawled across the floor toward the door. It was filthy down here. I needed a shower after this. Thank goodness we made it to the door. I reached up and grabbed the doorknob. Holding my breath, I twisted and pushed open the door. Dorothy and I had escaped. Freedom at last!

“That was a close one,” Dorothy said breathlessly as we rushed toward the car.