Mystery at the Swimming Hole pg 43-45, Epilogue

“Nothing, I’ll take care of it.” Then he pulled a gun from under his jacket and shot Tad twice then a third shot to seal the deal, like the woman found at the bottom of the quarry.

 The boss dumped the body in the woods then he went back to the mansion to deal with Grandma Parker. He would send the guys over to clean up the site.

Carson took two deputies and drove to Wilkies. The sheriff saw Tad’s the crew leaving so he sent the deputies to follow them.

He recognized Hawkins car in the driveway and wondered who called the inspector. He was supposed to be on the other side of the county working a big case.

As he entered the house he saw the inspector guiding Parker down the stairs into the basement.

“Hold up Greg. What’s going on?” Carson asked.

Hawkins turned. “I’ve got this, sheriff. Check the perimeter for Tad’s crew.”

A frown of suspicion covered the sheriffs’ face. He sent his deputies to follow Tad’s guys, so what was the inspector trying to pull. “My deputies got that covered. Why are you taking Parker to the basement?”

Hawkins spun around and shot Carson. The sheriff fell knocking over a chair. He laid still, playing dead until Hawkins went downstairs. 

* * *

The boys were worried and wanted to do their part so they jumped in Frank’s car and drove over to Tad’s. They discussed what they would do on there way over. 

They know enough not to barge into the house so they peered through the windows, but saw nothing. The door was unlocked. It was a big house, so they entered but split up. Frank and Mike went left toward the massive den. John and me went right toward the basement.

It wasn’t long before we saw the sheriff laying on floor a few steps away from the basement door. He was bleeding badly. I could hear voices coming from the basement. I sent John to get the boys to help me then I told him to take Franks car and get help for the sheriff.

Mike and Frank showed up quickly. I told them to be quiet because someone was in the basement and they weren’t going to welcome us. Being quiet for Mike was not the norm but he did well on this occasion.

            They knew going down the stairs was the wrong approach. The metal treads made it impossible to walk down with out creating a noisy entrance. There was no way to avoid being heard.

            Frank picked up Carson’s gun. I stood behind the basement door with a club that I took from one of the statues in the hall. Frank signaled Mike to yell as if he just found the sheriff. We had to get the attention of whoever was downstairs. We knew they would have to come check out the noise. 

            It was only seconds later we heard someone running up the steps. Inspector Hawkins appeared with a gun in hand. He saw Mike and said. “What are you doing here? Did you do that to the sheriff?”

            “No, we found him like this.”

            “Where’s the rest of the boys?” Hawkins waved his gun for Mike to stand up. 

            I knew immediately Hawkins was a dirty cop. I jumped out behind the door and swung the club as hard as I could at the inspectors’ gun hand. The gun went flying and he grabbed his hand. He screamed in pain. Frank came around the corner with the gun pointed at Hawkins. Mike picked up the inspectors gun.

            We could hear the sirens in the distance. Help was on the way. Mike and Frank watched the inspector while I went downstairs. G-ma was tied up but uninjured. I untied her then followed her back upstairs. G-ma brought the bindings with her. I pointed at the inspector. “We need to tie him up.”

            G-ma smiled. “Glad to oblige. Keep the gun on him. This won’t take long.” She hog-tied him like they did at the rodeo. 

Just then the deputies charged in and seconds later the paramedics. They attended to the sheriff, loaded him on a stretched and rushed him to the hospital. The deputies took charge of Hawkins. They already had Tad’s two guys in the squad car when they threw Hawkins in with them. Their jail cells would be full tonight.  

            We headed toward the door to go back to the station when G-ma told us to hold-up. She went into Tad’s office and retrieved the tape recorder.

            We dropped G-ma off at the station and she gave her statement about the inspector shooting Carson. Later that day we drove over to the hospital. Five people in Franks car was a tight squeeze, so we voted to have Mike sit on the hump in the back. He wasn’t happy about the seating arrangements, but we promised him he could have a seat on the way back. G-ma stayed at the hospital, so none of us had to sit on the hump. They removed the bullet from the sheriff and he recovered quickly with help from Grandma Parker. 

The batteries on the tape recorder died but they lasted long enough to capture a conversation Tad had with his crew after they locked Parker up in the bedroom. The recording revealed Lindy was killed because she was about to expose the truth about the dog-fighting ring. 

Blood money and murder in a small Missouri town was a news story that went nationwide, since a police inspector was at the center of the investigation. 

Me and the guys got a reward for our part in the capture and prosecution of the Hawkins for the murders of Lindy and Tad Wilkies. The dog-fighting crew were sent up the river for a few years for their part in the crimes.

 

 

 

Epilogue

 

Each of us had achieved success in different ways. 

 

In 1971 at eighteen John tried out for ‘72 Olympics. He was unsuccessful but we, his buddies were impressed with John’s athletic abilities. To us he was a winner. He earned a teaching certificate and taught classes at the local high school plus being the swim coach. 

Mike had many jobs but never seemed to be satisfied with any of them until one Friday night he did a comedy act at the local bar and was a hit. People always say comedians hide they insecurities behind their humor. That explained Mike. He honed his comedic skills playing clubs around the Midwest. He made a living doing what he loved, entertaining people. 

Frank was a car guy from the day installed the lawn chairs in the 54 Chevy. He was always sweet on Miss Hot Pants, the librarian and shortly after he fixed up the Chevy he asked her out on a date. She was three years older than him, but that didn’t make any difference. They got married in 1973. Frank was twenty and Miss Hot Pants, Cheryl was twenty-three. One year later they welcomed a baby boy to the family.

I graduated college in 1975 with a degree in creative writing. A guy named Samuel from Hannibal, Mo paid my college tuition as long as I maintained a ‘B’ average.  It was the only way I was going to college so, I shot for an ‘A’. I know what you’re thinking; Samuel Clemens aka Marl Twain paid my way through college. That would be a good story, but it was Samuel Benson. He owned the hardware store in Hannibal and he was a true philanthropist before it became popular. There is a connection to Mark Twain though. Young Samuel Clemens worked at the hardware store. The kid that created Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn characters was caught stealing a hammer, something he needed to build a raft. True story. Well, I can’t prove it, but that’s what I’ve heard.

Three months after I graduated, I received a wedding invitation to G-ma and Sheriff Carson’s nuptials. I wasn’t at all surprised. Mike had informed me that they had been seen around town giggling and canoodling like teenagers, so he assumed they were dating. That seemed like an odd word to use from old people, but Mike knew something was going on. What surprised me most was that Mike was going to be the best man. 

We always made sure we got together once a year at the quarry to reminisce about the old times and talk about our plans for the future. The wedding would give us another chance to get together. The ceremony was nice, but the reception was amazing. 

Mike greeted me at the door and showed me to my table. “Hey Kevin! Have you started that novel yet?” 

“Funny that you should ask. I started it three weeks ago.” 

Mike smiled. “Cool, what’s it about?”

“It’s an adventure story about the old gang.”

“That should be easy. You lived it.” Mike pointed to the table. “One favor, don’t make me the small guy.” 

“But you are the small guy. God did that, not me.”

“Frank’s already at the table with Cheryl. Ask him what’s new?” Mike left to greet more guests.

I walked up to Frank and Cheryl. “Frank, how did you get so lucky? Cheryl’s way too good for you.” I laughed. “What’s new with you guys?”

Cheryl giggled and Frank said. “We’re pregnant.”

“That’s great, both of you?” 

            “Ha, funny Kevin.” Frank stirred his drink. “It’s twins.”

            “Wow, that’s fantastic. Congratulations.”

            John walked up just as Frank told me the news. “Twins! That calls for a celebration.” 

            “Mike wants to get together for a barbeque at my shop.” Frank pulled a chair out for John. “Ever since I installed a BBQ pit in the trunk of the ole ’54 Chevy, Mike shows up with burgers every couple of weeks and we talk about our time as undercover agents. Ha, Ha.”

            John dug a soda out of the ice bucket on the table. “Sounds great. I can bring some turkey jerky from the new batch I just finished.”

            Cheryl turned to Frank. “Can you go get me a slice of wedding pie? Peach, if there’s any left.”

            “Yes dear, I’ll put a big scoop of ice cream on top for you.” Frank stood up to fetch the pie.

            “Hold up, Frank I’ll go with you.” I slid out of my chair. “I can’t pass up G-ma’s pie.”

            “We need to go see Mike’s act at the Comedy Barn when he’s there next.” Frank picked up some plastic forks. “He should have his dog in the act by then.

            “What?”

            “John trained Mike’s dog to laugh on command and Mike’s gonna use him in his comedy act. The dog has such a weird bark it almost sounds like laughter.”

            We each came back with three slices to share with the table. There were gone in no time. John went back for more and brought Mike back with him. 

             The wedding was a blast. It felt like we were teenagers again. The next day we ate barbeque burgers at Franks shop. Turns out the ’54 Chevy made a better barbeque pit than a car, but we didn’t tell Frank. Mike brought his dog and debuted his comedy act with his dog, Carlson. 

            There are many roads to travel in life, but sometimes the old roads with your buddies are the ones that bring you the best memories.

Mystery at the Swimming Hole pg 38-42

As it turned out, the divers were brothers with records and spent some time in jail for petty crimes. The younger one, was Carl and the oldest was Karl with a ‘K’. He said he was named after his uncle . . . Keith. 

“Huh?” Carson scratched his head.

Karl sensed the confusion and said, “Keith starts with a ‘K’ and so does Karl.” 

Carson shook his head in amazement and pointed at his badge. “Well, I’m the sheriff and it starts with an ‘S’ but how it ends is up to you.”

Both Carson and Hawkins interrogated the (K)Carls. I quietly listened behind a curtain, and there was a slit that allowed me to watch without being noticed.

The brothers were the muscle not the brains, no where smart enough to run a dog-fighting ring. They were brought in separately and each grilled by the sheriff and the investigator. Karl with a ‘K’ was the first to be questioned. Inspector Hawkins asked what he knew about the woman found in the quarry to get a reaction from him. 

Both brothers claimed they knew nothing, which in a way wasn’t hard to believe. Neither was the sharpest pencil in the drawer, and they could be manipulated. Karl said they were called in after the girl was murdered. 

“Murdered? I didn’t say anything about murder.” Carson squinted his eyes.

Karl squirmed in his chair. “I just assumed. She was found at the bottom of the quarry. That doesn’t seem like an accident.”

“It could’ve been if she was drunk, right?” Hawkins pried. 

“Look, I don’t know anything about the girl. My brother and me don’t get involved in that kinda stuff.”

“The girl was shot three times with a 22 caliber weapon.” Carson explained. “she was dead before the car took a nose dive into the quarry.” 

After questioning both, the sheriff brought Karl back in and showed him a money bag that he said was found in Carl’s backpack. 

“I don’t know what you think about this.” Lifting up the bag. “But this looks like a money bag. I think your brother was holding out on you.”

“That can’t be. We were together the whole time.”

“The money was never at the kid’s house. That was a lie to get you there.” Carson picked up a pen and note pad. “I think Carl had it and was just playing along.”

“You have no proof that bag contained any money.” 

Hawkins sniffed the bag. “Did you ever smell money?” He dropped the bag on the table. “This bag smells like money.” He took a dollar bill from his wallet. “Smell this.” The inspector held the bill to Karl’s nose.

He sniffed the bill then the bag. “That no good son-of-a-bitch.” Karl’s face turned red with rage.

“Tell us your side. It’ll be easier on you, than having to beat it out of you.” Carson turned his chair around and straddled it.

Karl told his story, but swore neither; he nor his brother had anything to do with the girl’s murder. They were just called in to retrieve the money then kept on to work the dog-fighting competition. No one was sure how much Lindy had taken from the stash, so when the rumor mill started about more money they were told to find it. Tad was terrible at keeping records, which really upset the boss man.

            Hawkins leaned forward. “Who’s the boss man?”

            “No one but Tad has met him or even talked with him on the phone.” Karl insisted. The divers were locked up in the county jail for trespassing and endangering the life of a minor. 

* * *

The next morning out of habit all the boys showed up at G-Ma’s and were welcomed as always. Neither the sheriff nor inspector was there. None of the boys or grandma knew what the next move was going to be. They did know that somehow they needed to find out who the bossman was, but how? It was in Tad’s best interest to keep quiet. They would have to trick him to get the information.

Since G-Ma was on the inside, she would need to be the one to pry some information out of Tad. She borrowed Kevin’s tape recorder, hid it in her carpetbag purse to take to Wilkie’s place. She planned to tell him she came to collect the money he owed her. 

* * *

            When Parker arrived at the estate she immediately noticed something seemed off. Tad appeared suspicious of her, but she ignored her senses and followed him into the parlor. A couple of his guys were sitting there, guzzling beers. It looked like they had been drinking for a while. He told Parker to wait while he got her the money. G-ma quietly pressed the record button as she waited for Tad to return. Something was definitely off, she sensed a negative vibe from the guys in the parlor. 

            She decided to question them. “What’s with you guys? Is something wrong?”

            The skinny one’s lip quivered. “Tad says we have a snitch on the crew.”

            “Why? What did he say?” 

            He stretched his long legs. “That’s just it, he didn’t say much so we’re kinda on edge. We all look suspicious to Tad.”

            Just then Tad walked back into the parlor holding an envelope, which he handed to Parker. She took it, said thanks, and headed to the door. But he stopped her and said. “Follow me, I want to show you something.” 

            The hair stood up on the back of her neck. “Can this wait till later? I got some pies in the oven that won’t wait for nobody.”

            “It won’t take long.” Tad held the door open to his office. The room was full of trophies from the hunting trips he took. He directed her to sit, then handed her a stuffed bird. 

            “What’s this for?” Parker asked. 

            Wilkie smiled. “It’s a pigeon.”  He crossed his arms. “Pigeons were used as decoys to draw the prey into a net. A live pigeon was tied to a stool. When it was moved the pigeon’s wings fluttered attracting other birds.” 

            Trying to stay calm and in control, Parker said, “That’s fascinating, but who gives a pigeon crap about that.”

            “Well, we both know the more common meaning . . . don’t we?” Tad looked smug as he leaned back in his chair. “The big boss is pointing his finger in your direction.”

            “Are you calling me a stool pigeon?” Tad strolled to the door then opened it to call the two guys. Parker reached down to into her huge purse when his back was turned and shoved the tape recorder behind a shelf.

            Tad signaled for the guys to take Parker. “Grandma’s real tired. Take her to the guest room and lock the door. We don’t need anyone to disturb her.”

* * *

            The boys waited at G-ma’s until well past the time she was expected to return. I finally spoke up. “Something has happened. She should have been back long ago.”

            “You’re right Kevin.” Frank pulled his car keys out of his pocket. “We need to go see the sheriff.” 

* * * 

            When the boys showed up at the station, the sheriff was going over some paperwork. 

            Mike was the first to notice. “What’s up Sheriff? You looked puzzled.”

            “I can’t say right now, but pieces aren’t fitting into place with this woman’s murder.” Carson looked up. “What are you boys doing here?”

            “We think Grandma’s in trouble.” Frank said, “She went to Wilkie’s but hasn’t returned.”

            “Yeah, we think something bad happened,” my voice broke. “She’s been gone too long.”   

“That doesn’t sound like a big problem Parker can handle herself.”

“Yes, but she took my tape recorder.” I explained. “She was going to try to get Tad to spill the beans on the boss man.”

“Agh! That was a terrible idea.” Carson furrowed his brow. “If she was caught recording him, she’s in big trouble.”

“Should we tell the inspector?” Mike fidgeted with a pencil taken from the sheriff’s desk.

“Hawkins has another important case he’s working or the other side of the county, so he’s not around right now.” The sheriff signaled for his deputy to come over. “Stay here boys. Me and my deputy need to talk.”

            

* * * 

The bossman called Tad and told him to meet him at Cutthroat Daycare and Tattoo Parlor, an abandoned business, down the street from the hotel. There were some important issues that needed to be discussed. Tad didn’t like the idea of an offsite meeting, but it was the only way the boss could keep his identity secret. 

The door was locked when Tad arrived. Torn, faded flyers still taped to window offered a discount on tattoos for kids five and up. No wonder this place was out-of-business. The boss unlocked the door and let him in.

“Why are we meeting here?” Tad asked, “I’ve got everything under control.”

“Do you?” The boss inquired, “Where’s Parker?”

“She ain’t goin nowhere.” Tad assured him, “Got her locked up in a bedroom.”

“You said that about the kid . . .  and where is he?”

“We’ll find him. He can’t have gone far.” Tad leaned on the desk. “Probably drowned in the pond.”

“There’s too many things that have gone wrong.” The boss paced the room. “Loose ends will do us in.”

“So, what do you want me to do?” Tad held his hands up.

Mystery at the Swimming Hole pg 33-37

* * * 

 

We all showed up early but Mike was the first, who told me he was concerned about John, even if he didn’t admit it.

G-ma was cooking breakfast. She had set a plate on the table for each of us. We helped ourselves to the mound of crisp bacon, fried eggs, and buttery hash browns stacked on three different plates. When our stomachs were full the sheriff guided us into the parlor. Grandma followed.

“Did the inspector find anything out about John?”

“No. Nothing at all, but we didn’t expect any solid answers. It was just a warning blanketed by an inquiry. Tad explained they were hosting a dog show, by invitation only and apologized for the noise. He also said he knew nothing about the kid, but he’d have his boys keep a lookout for him in case he wandered onto the property.

Mike wrung his hands. “Did Hawkins look for him?”

“Tad invited him in to look around, but the inspector didn’t find anything suspicious. Remember it’s twenty acres, a boy would be easy to hide.” 

“So, here’s what we know.” He scratched his head. “We believe John was caught when he opened the cages and let the dogs escape. They ran around the property howling and barking. Tad or his men locked John up somewhere on the property, but we don’t know how long he’ll be there. John’s seen too much, so they may have already moved him to a more secure location on the grounds. Things could get . . . worse.”

We looked at each other. Mike gulped. “Worse?” 

Carson nodded for Parker to continue, “When they caught John, Wilkie made a phone call to someone. I don’t know who it was, but I could tell he was the boss. Tad laid the story out to him and after that just responded, ‘yes sir, no sir,’ on the rest of the call.”

The sheriff sipped his coffee. “Since we don’t know who he called, we have to keep this information to ourselves. Just the people in this room.” 

 

* * *

The boys seemed like lost souls after leaving Grandma’s. Frank went to the junkyard to check on some car parts. Mike tagged along with him. I told them I was going to walk to the station in case they heard some news about John. 

Frank high fived me. “We’ll drive over after I pick up door locks.”

I scratched my head. “Door locks? What for?”

“Gotta protect my investment.” Frank pulled the car door open. “Sometimes I drive through a bad area of town.”

“The junkyard is the bad area.”

“Exactly.” Frank said with authority.

I heard Frank and Mike pull away as I made my way down the road. 

 

* * * 

I arrived at the sheriff’s office about noon and spent a few hours helping Carson file some paperwork and listening to the police scanner. The sheriff got a call late in the afternoon on his walkie-talkie from one of his deputies. A half-naked boy in boots was walking down the dirt road. The deputy said the boy had a crazy long story about his escapades. He said his name was John.

Carson laughed, “Bring him to the station and stop by Grandma’s to pick some britches and a shirt for the kid.”

Frank and Mike walked in the front door. I could hear Frank’s jalopy spit and sputter as it died.

Sheriff Carson told us to pick a seat in the interview room so we could all hear first hand about John’s escape when he showed up with the deputy. 

Carson brought John into the room where we were all waiting. 

Mike taunted John, “You’re late.”

“I’ve been busy, you know – investigating.”

“Nice clothes, detective. They look a bit big.” I said

“G-ma gave them to me. They were ole’ man Parker’s.” 

I patted John on the shoulder. “Great! Dead guy boots and now dead guy pants and a dead guy shirt.”

Mike raised his hands in celebration.  “Trifecta.”

Carson jumped in the conversation. “Enough. Let John tell his story. Go ahead start. Tell us what happened, but skip the bonehead part when you jumped on the trailer, then the bonehead stunt when you released the dogs and of course the biggest bonehead move when you were caught.”

John frowned then adjusted his chair. “First they locked me in the basement, but later moved me to the cave. They were worried I’d be too easy to find in the house.” John crossed his legs. “Tad had iron bars and a gate installed in one of the cave chambers. He and his guys locked me behind the bars. It’s where the cages for the fighting dogs were kept. Remember, there was an underground pond in the cavern too. I couldn’t see another way out.” 

“Tad slammed the gate and locked it, then said. ‘That should hold you until I decide what to do with you.”’

“I told him, somebody would come lookin for me. Then I grabbed the bars and shouted. ‘What’re you gonna do then?”’

“Tad mumbled as turned he turned to walk away. ‘You’ll be the first to know.’ Then he waved at one of his guys to stand guard at the main entrance of the cave.” 

“As soon as they left I started to search around the cavern to see if there was

any way to escape. It was so dark I had to search by touch, but gave up after a time. It was hopeless; at least that’s what I thought.” 

            “Late in the afternoon I started searching again, thinking maybe I had missed something. When I got closer to the pond I noticed a small ray of light coming from deep in the water” John sipped his soda. ” I was puzzled. I wondered if there could be a passageway to the outside through the pond. It was risky, but I had to give it a shot. I would need to swim toward the light and see if it led to a way out.”

            “After I stripped down to my skivvies, I slid into the cold water and dove toward the light. But, it turned out to be harder than I expected. It took three tries to find the light source.  The light bounced off the quartz rocks lying near a small crevice. The opening was small, but big enough for me to squeeze through. I returned to the cave surface once more to get my boots. I picked up a dog leash that was lying by an empty cage. I pulled it through loops on my boots and tied them around my neck. Then I made my final dive, but this time went through the opening to an outside pond. Once I broke the water surface, I heaved and gasped for air, then threw my boots onto the bank.”

            “I sat on the shore until I caught my breath then pulled my boots on and walked through the tall grass toward the sound of a car tire on the gravel road. I was still on the property, but the area around the fence wasn’t well maintained. I spotted a hole in the fence and crawled through to the outside world. That’s when the deputy found me.” 

             “Did you hear the inspector at Wilkies’ house when he came looking for you?” Frank asked. 

             “I heard somebody, but I couldn’t tell what they were saying or even recognize a voice. I was able to understand a few words, but that’s it.” 

            The sheriff picked up a pen and paper. “So tell us exactly what you heard.” 

“It really wasn’t much, but I heard the words – a problem.” John elaborated. “There was more, but I couldn’t make it out.”

The sheriff stood up and opened the door. “You boys should head home but come back tomorrow after breakfast.” Pointing at me he said, “Kevin, can you hold back a minute, I’d like to talk with you.”

“Okay, will it be long? ‘Cuz Mike and are going over to the Five and Dime to look at some tape recorders.”

“No, not long. I just need a few minutes to explain something. Mike can wait out front.”

I stayed seated while my buddies left. I had told the sheriff about the trespassers at my house a few days ago, and that’s what he wanted to talk about. He told me there would send a couple of deputies over for the next few nights because he expected the intruders to return. They were looking for the missing twenty grand and for some reason they believed I may have it.

Rumors have their own life and the ones circulated about the missing cash landed on me as the most likely kid to have it. A trap was set to see who was following the money. The divers took the bait and showed up at my a few days later. Detectives were waiting and picked them up for trespassing. They were taken to the station for questioning.