Chapter 5 #2
“I just called the Yellow Rose. I wanted to talk to Pearl because she knows a little bit about everything going on in Crossroads. One of the waitresses answered. I gave her my number, asking Pearl to call me when she could, so we wait for the call.”
Gunner leaned forward and lowered his voice.
“It makes almost no sense to assume that this was a revenge shooting. To our knowledge, Dad has no enemies. While I was in the airport waiting to board, I decided to check the robbery angle. All of Pete Brandt’s known associates are either still in prison, or deceased, like him.
I also called the prison warden where Brandt was being held and asked about visitors he might have had.
Turns out, he’s had no visitors for over five years, until just before he died.
It was after the warden notified his next of kin that Brandt was dying, and gave them permission for an end-of-life visit, so to speak. ”
“Did anyone show?” Asher asked.
“Yes, his two sons, Everett and Freddie Brandt. The warden gave them thirty minutes. They were at his bedside the entire time until Brandt ended it on his own and sent them away. But that doesn’t have to mean anything. Family is always called when a prisoner is dying like that,” Gunner said.
Dylan was already lost. “I build houses. My puzzles involve plumbing and electrical issues, and supply issues, so you’re going to have to spell all this out for me, because I don’t think or speak cop like you two.”
“Sorry, brother,” Asher said. “It’s basically laying out all of the what-ifs, and then eliminating what doesn’t fit, or finding the connections. Right now, everything is a theory. We don’t have one solid piece of evidence. Maybe after we talk to Pearl, we’ll have a starting point.”
Gunner nodded. “Everything is a process of elimination, and being able to see through the bullshit in the statements we take.”
“Got it. I won’t be much help when it comes to all that, but I’ve got your backs, whatever is going down,” Dylan said.
Asher grinned. “We know that. Remember the positions we played in high school football?”
Gunner looked up and almost smiled. “Ash was the quarterback. Dylan was the center, always blocking the opponent, and me…a running back on offense, and the safety on defense.”
Dylan laughed. “Fastest little shit on the field I ever saw. Ran forty yards in under five seconds. They were scouting you for college football when you broke a bunch of hearts and went into law enforcement instead.”
Gunner shrugged. He had his reasons, most of which pointed to Brenda Kingston’s double life. He glanced up at the clock. “Visiting time again.”
“I’ll sit this out,” Dylan said. “You and Asher go in,” then went to a vending machine to get a can of pop as they left, and began going through email and took a phone call from Angie about work.
A tile order for six houses got back-ordered, so he cancelled the order and told Angie to pick out something comparable and see if the company could put a rush on delivery. Then the brothers returned.
“Any change?” Dylan asked.
“No, and the doctor isn’t likely to make rounds before late. Some kind of surgical emergency. I told the nurse we were leaving for the evening but staying nearby. They’ll call if there’s a need,” Asher said.
Dylan repacked his laptop as they retrieved their luggage, then they all headed for the elevator.
Gunner led them to where he’d parked. They loaded their luggage and got into the SUV. Moments later, he drove out of the parking lot and headed down the street to the hotel.
* * *
Nora Borden was knee-deep in memories as she continued sorting through what was left of her parents’ belongings, and she wasn’t making much headway.
The figurines that had meant so much to her mother were still in the etagere in the living room.
Her dad’s pipe and a nearly empty tin of pipe tobacco were lying in an ornate ashtray, on a table next to the sofa.
Every time she looked at it, it made her feel like he’d walk in at any moment, ready to shake in a little tobacco, tamp it down with his thumb, then add enough more to fill the bowl before lighting it up.
The “good dishes” were still in the china cabinet in the dining room, and the kitchen was full of everyday dishes, and all the pots and pans.
The curtains were clean, but faded, and hung limply from the rods.
She was torn between guilt and necessity, and knew she was going to grieve it, regardless of her final decision.
And now, after what had happened to Jacob, and guessing what Asher and his brothers were going through, she had this overwhelming need to reach out, but at the same time, didn’t want to intrude.
Finally, she gave it up for the day and made a quick trip to the Yellow Rose to pick up her to-go order. They’d be closing soon, and she didn’t want to cook. Cars in the parking lot were thinning out fast when she got out and ran inside and up to the register.
Darla was already there checking out a customer, so Nora got in line. About that time, Pearl came out of the kitchen carrying two bagged up to-go orders. When she saw Nora, she smiled.
“Good timing, sugar! This one is yours,” Pearl said, and set them down on the counter as Darla went to tend to her tables. “How’s it going at home?”
Nora shrugged. “Slow. Depressing.”
“I can only imagine,” Pearl said as Nora paid for her order.
Pearl went back to the kitchen, while Nora got in the car and drove home.
She transferred her food to a plate, made herself a drink, and carried it to the living room to eat, and as soon as she sat down, turned on the TV for the sound of voices.
She hated to eat alone.
* * *
By the time the brothers checked into the hotel and got to their rooms, they were ready to unwind. They unlocked the connecting doors between their rooms, giving each other free rein, and began to unpack.
Eventually, they gathered in the living area of the middle room, which was Asher’s. He was sitting on the side of his bed. Dylan was on the other side, and Gunner had pulled the chair away from the desk and was straddling it backward, using the chair back for an arm rest.
“Did either of you get any grief for taking a leave of absence from work?” Dylan asked.
“I didn’t,” Ash said. “I’d just finished up on a case when I got the call from Reddick. It was just a matter of letting them know what happened, and then I was off.”
“I was en route to a murder scene when I got Ash’s call. I called into the precinct, told them I needed to take a leave of absence, and why, and they sent another detective to the scene and told me to take all the time I needed to sort it out,” Gunner said.
“Is Angie coping okay with you gone?” Asher asked.
Dylan rolled his eyes. “She knows as much about the business as I do, and the men on my crews respect her. Besides, before they’re hired, I put the fear of God in them about messing with her. They know she’s to be viewed as the manager when I’m gone, and they damn well better respect her.”
“In other words, they’re scared of you,” Gunner said.
Dylan shrugged. “Six crews of twelve men each, besides all the subcontractors we work with… They need to be just scared enough not to lie to me, not to steal from me, and not to piss me off. I’m a fair boss, and they get paid well.”
Gunner threw a wad of paper at him. “I’m not scared of you,” he said.
Dylan laughed. “That’s fine, baby brother, because we’re not scared of you, either. So, stop ruffling your tail feathers at us and help us decide what we’re going to do for dinner. We could order from any restaurant via DoorDash, or go out to eat somewhere.”
They all started talking at once when Asher’s phone rang. He glanced at it and then held up his hand.
“Hush it! It’s Pearl. I’m going to put her on Speaker.”
They silenced immediately. Gunner turned around to get a pen and paper from the desk behind him, as Asher answered.
“Hello. Pearl?”
“Yes, it’s me, honey. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. It’s been a hectic day, and I had to wait until we’d closed.”
“That’s okay. I appreciate you returning my call. My brothers are right here with me, and I have you on Speaker. We were told you’re the one who saved Dad’s life, and the only witness.”
“Well, I kept him from bleeding out, but I’d reckon that doctor who patched him up is the one who saved his life,” Pearl said.
“We beg to differ, but we have so many questions and know very little about what happened,” Asher said.
“Sheriff Reddick only told me Dad had been shot and was airlifted to Amarillo. We don’t know anything about the incident, and didn’t know anything about your part in it until Nora told us.
Would you walk us through it? How did you even know what happened? ”
“Sure,” Pearl said, and began with the mention of her open window and hearing the shot. Then seeing a black truck make a U-turn in the empty parking lot like the locals do, and her calling Jacob and getting no answer.
“It was only after that white sports car shot out of the parking lot and took off west slinging gravel and burning rubber, that I feared he’d been robbed.
I tried calling him again, and when I didn’t get an answer, I got dressed, took my shotgun, and ran down the highway to the bar.
The door was open. There was broken glass on the floor as I walked in.
I began turning on lights as I went, thinking he might be in the living quarters, because I could see the door open into the house.
But as I was running that way calling his name, I saw his body behind the bar.
I called 911, and then put pressure pads on the entrance and exit wound to slow down the flow of blood and told him not to die. ”
“Damn,” Asher muttered. “We will never be able to thank you enough. You put your own life at risk for him and we know it.”
Pearl was teary all over again. “He’s been my friend for a very long time. He would have done the same for me.”