CHAPTER 154 Pleasantries
Jack
While the Sheriff parked his car, I took one look at his dark menacing face and it was enough
to send a chill down my spine..
I’ve seen him mad before, but this was the first time his eyes were dark with rage. Yet, in their depths,
there was something else…
Anguish… Misery… Torment.
Liam took a step forward, obviously wanting answers, but I blocked him with my arm. He looked at me,
his brow furrowed, as if questioning why, so I answered him by slowly shaking my head and giving him
a warning look.
That look on the Sheriff’s face… I’ve seen that look before… in the eyes of desperate, hopeless men.
In my experience, disheartened men usually ended up doing harrowing things. I didn’t want anything to
trigger the Sheriff into doing the unthinkable. I knew my conscience wouldn’t be able to handle
something like that.
Liam impatiently pursed his lips and ced his hands on his hips, annoyed he had to hold back and
give the Sheriff time to calm down. Eventually, he nodded his head, finally agreeing it was best if we
allowed the Sheriff his space.
Just like Liam, I wanted answers too, but seeing Sheriff Combs in that state, frightened me.
Earlier in the day, as instructed by the Sheriff, I drove to the Bismarck Police Precinct to speak to
Detective Matthews. I saw him patiently waiting for me at the information desk as I walked into the
police station.
He wasn’t what I expected. I thought I’d be meeting a young inexperienced rookie in a suit. However,
the man who greeted me looked as if he was nearing retirement. He looked as old. as the Sheriff, bald
except for the fluffy white hairs sticking out from the sides of his head. He had a sharp pointed nose, a
brown haired moustache with several errant strands of gray hair, beady blue eyes and bushy brown
eyebrows. He was wearing a simple brown suit paired with a dark shirt and red necktie while on his feet
were a pair of scuffed up ck leather
shoes.
“Undersheriff Emery,” he greeted me while extending his hand. “I’m Detective Matthews. I really
appreciate youing to see me.”
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CHAPTER 154 Pleasantries
I grabbed his hand and shook it enthusiastically “Hello, Detective Matthews. Nice to meet you. The
off extends his apologies for not being able to meet with you. Aside from all the investigations our
department is conducting, he was injured at a riot this morning and had to go to the hospital for
stitches. He’s been ordered bed rest by the doctor.”
“Sorry to hear that. Do tell the Sheriff I wish him a speedy recovery. Anyway, pleasantries aside, I’m
hoping you can help me with my investigation. Let’s talk in my office,” he said, releasing my hand and
gesturing for me to follow him. “You drink coffee?” He asked, stopping at the small coffee station
situated at a corner.
“Of course. Cream and two sugars,” I replied. He nodded his head.
“Donut?”
“Sure, why not,” I answered nonchntly. Using a napkin, he took a powdered donut from a
he white box and handed it to me. After filling two disposable cups with brewed coffee, nudged his
head towards a door with his name on the office doorlight.
While I situated myselffortably in a wooden chair in front of his desk with my donut
of and cup of coffee in my hands, he quickly sat in the chair behind his desk, cing his cup coffee on
a coaster, and began shuffling through the papers in a file folder.
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“You must be terribly busy. I heard about the death of the former mayor of New Salem. Is it true the
nurse administrator of St. Elizabeth Hospital killed him while under the hospital’s care?” Detective
Matthews asked. He was apparently up to date with his current events.
“ording to her suicide letter, but it’s still under investigation,” I answered, sipping my coffee. I felt
myself rx as the bitter taste of the coffee swirled in my mouth.
“And the nurse who inadvertently killed Theodore Cohen? I heard he’s no longer in your
custody.”
“Well, he was able to hire himself a goodwyer I replied.
“I see. Seems you have your hands full, so I’ll just get right to it. There were two incidents that have
happened recently and both seem to be connected to New Salem. One was at the Silver Spoon Diner
and the other at Huff Hills Mansion. I’m afraid it has been one blood bath after the other,” he said,
showing me pictures of both crime scenes. I noticed each photo contained images of people lying in a
pool of their own blood. “Both ces are owned by CMD Enterprises whose CEO and founder is a
certain Cynthia McDowell, a resident of New Salem. ording to our intel, both crime scenes are
believed to be rted to some drug war. When I spoke to Sheriff Combs, he said Cynthia McDowell
passed away. Can you tell me
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CHAPTER 154 Pleasantries
how she died?”
“She was shot inside her own home with a sn iper rifle,” I answered. His eyes widened in
rm. “Based on our investigation, we suspect she and her son, Peter McDowell, may have double-
crossed someone. After her death, Peter disappeared. ording to a close friend of his, McDowell is
most probably out of the country. We’ve been trying to locate him, but have
been unsessful. We believe he might have changed his name and appearance. Truth be told, none
of us had any idea the McDowells were tangled in this sort of stuff. You see, Peter McDowell kept to
himself mostly and worked as an interior designer for a small contractor. His mother, on the other hand,
did charity work and was even the head of a local church organization.” The detective nodded his head
while he took down notes.
“And his mother, what was her upation in New Salem?” the detective asked.
“She was into real estate and had several businesses,” I answered.
“When I spoke with your sheriff, he mentioned a Ma Lawrence. There happens to be one lone
survivor of the Silver Spoon massacre, a young man identified as Riley Harris, who is currently at
Bismarck General Hospital. The EMTs who provided onsite emergency care told me he uttered the
name Ma. Who is she and what is her rtionship with Riley Harris?
“Ma Lawrence is a suspected drug trafficker and Peter McDowell’s lover while Riley Harris is one of
Lawrence’s closest associates. They were ssmates in high school. Anyway, after receiving an
anonymous tip, we had assets in ce for a buy-bust operation at Ma Lawrence’s residence,
however she together with a small army were able to neutralize all assets. In their haste to flee from the
authorities, they left weapons, drugs and money in Lawrence’s home. If memory serves me correctly,
all this happened at approximately the same time the Silver Spoon Massacre happened.
“And what about motive? Why kill Riley Harris?” The detective asked.
“Love triangle. Ma Lawrence and Riley Harris were very close. Peter McDowell must have set up a
meeting with Riley here in Bismarck with the intention of killing him,” I said. The detective nodded his
head while scribbling on the sheet of paper. I waited for him to ask me a question, but he just continued
writing.
Impatient, I coughed to grab his attention..
“Detective, we’vee to believe we have a mole in our department. And from what you told the
Sheriff, we believe it might be Deputy Randall Evans. He purposely did not inform the Sheriff that Riley
Harris is currently in the hospital. It begs us to believe Riley’s life may be
in danger.”
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CHAPTER 154 Pleasantries
“I understand your concern. Riley Harris no doubt has valuable information and could serve
as an asset when and if he wakes up,” Detective Matthews said with a smile. “I have uniform
personnel keeping a close watch. I assure you, we will protect him, despite the circumstances.” He
suddenly pulled out another picture from his file folder and ced it in
front of me. This time it was a photo of a small dark room with a filthy bed against a wall with chains
hanging above the bed. “This is a small room at the basement of Huff Hills
Mansion. It appears to be a torture room. Does Peter McDowell have any prior records for rape or
assault… maybe kidnapping?”
F uck. He knew.
My hands began to sweat.
“No,” I answered curtly. “What have you found, Detective?”
“Nothing conclusive, but after finding this room. I believe this isn’t purely about drugs. We
suspect human tra
The door to Detective Matthews’s office suddenly opened. I turned my head to find a younger man in a
blue suit standing at the doorway.
“Matthews, I need a word with you… in private, the man said.
“Excuse me, Undersheriff,” Detective Matthews said, walking out the door. Once the door
closed, I leaned over, my ear to the door, to eavesdrop.
“We got an anonymous call, Matthews. The woman on the phone said there’s a plot to kill Riley Harris
sometime in the evening.
How the f uck? A woman? Could it be Norma? Or Randy’s wife?
I leaned closer hoping to hear more.
“I’ll have Harris moved to another room in the secluded area of the hospital,” I heard Detective
Matthews say. “Is that all?”
“No. We have a report Huff Hills Mansion is currently burning to the ground.”
Oh wow! Pete was covering his tracks?
t
“Christ! The Crime Lab isn’t even done processing everything. How bad is it? And how is this even
possible? I instructed a team of uniforms to stand guard.”
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CHAPTER 154 Pleasantries
are having “Gas leak and from what I heard, it’s bad. Because of the wind, the firefighters trouble
extinguishing the fire. Most of the residents living in the area have been evacuated and reports say, the
trees surrounding the mansion are in mes.”
I heard Detective Matthews utter a curse. I quickly scooched back to my original position, so
I wouldn’t get caught eavesdropping. That’s when I noticed the open file folder on his desk… so, I
decided to take a peek.
There
re wasn’t much in the first few pages of the file, but it was clear they were looking into the McDowells
and all their close associates. Aside from the photographs and his notes, there wasn’t anything else.
I quickly fixed the file folder back to its original position and nced at the ceiling, noticing the CCTV
camera. I smiled. Before walking into the station, I turned on my jamming device. I was here to snoop,
not just answer questions.
Honestly, I was clueless as to why there was a gunfight at Huff Hillsst night, but I suspected De Vega
was involved. Then again, Lisa said De Vega swore he wasn’t involved in any of this…
Maybe it was someone else… Maybe it was Joy Taylor.
I smirked. Pete was using Joy Taylor’s ghost to distract us. If Pete got himself into a jam with De Vega,
there must be someone else out there gunning for him.
gone
for
The fire wasn’t an ident. He must have set the mansion on fire to destroy evidence. Well, that ys
to our advantage. Any evidence on the Joan Summers case would be good.
The detective walked back into his office as I was finishing my donut. He didn’t look too
happy.
e way. Cris Murdock’s wife can collect “I’m sorry, Undersheriff, but we have to cut our meeting short,”
he announced, closing the file folder. “I’ll call if I need more information. By her husband’s car when
she’s free. But I have to warn you. It doesn’t look too good. We happen to believe Cris Murdock’s body
may be at the bottom of the ravine. Rest assured, I have K-9 units searching for him.”
After one final handshake, I quickly left the station and climbed into my truck. Before turning the corner
at the exit, I threw the jamming device into the bushes, knowing they wouldn’t find any fingerprints on it.
I had silicon on my fingertips.
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CHAPTER 154 Pleasantries
I was a good distance away when I called the Sheriff to tell him what I had overheard.
“Good. They’ll expect someone toe at Riley’s old room. They won’t see meing.”
As I stared at the Sheriff, who was banging his palms against the steering wheel like a madman, my
guess is they did see himing.
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