“How about the students from the school, did you get over there this morning?”
“I did, that’s where I was just before we started this meeting. I found the students from the racquetball class and nobody remembered anything about a man in sunglasses and baseball hat, except for a couple of girls that said they spoke to a man matching that description at the end of their match on Monday morning. And get this, he was asking where he could find Seymour Wood.”
“Excellent. Were they able to expand on the description we have to date?” Ricky interjected.
“I think so, but they have agreed to come in this afternoon and have a sketch done with our artist,” Guest explained.
“Now we’re finally getting somewhere, those two girls have probably got the best chance to identify him. Have them go through the photo listing of known burglars,” the Sheriff instructed.
The three wrote down notes making sure that they didn’t miss anything they were directed to do. The investigation was taking a sudden left turn, just after they thought they had it solved with the arrest of Mr. Wood. Apparently he would be walking out on bail for now but maybe for good based on the discussion of the morning.
“You got anything else Guest?” the Sheriff asked.
“I’ve got an appointment with that couple from the farm community I spoke with the other day that phoned back with some information. It’s been difficult to nail him down but his wife has promised they will be home this afternoon and I can go and get a statement. I’ll let you know what I find out, it has something to do with the motorcycle.”
“That sounds fine, what else have you got to work on?” Lupo asked, dropping his hand to scratch Otis behind the ears.
“Remember the guy I talked with you about before we all thought Seymour was our man? His name is Lester Cummings.”
“Yes, have you done any follow-up?” Sheriff Lupo said leaning across his desk to write down a note.
“I did but didn’t come up with much. He has no priors, not even a parking ticket. Clean as a whistle, almost too clean. One thing of interest, the van is registered in his name and is legit, but he also has a motorcycle registered in his name, color identified as yellow and I’m sure, I could swear it, that I asked him about a motorcycle and he denied having one. But I can’t be sure, I didn’t write it down. Was just before I got called back to the station.”
“Okay, that’s a good start. I like this guy as a possible suspect, let’s follow your hunch and get a warrant. Get the ball rolling before you head out for that interview but I want you to present the documentation we need to the judge before the end of the day. I want to be able to surprise him first thing tomorrow morning with a raid. Is that understood? Breland, Ricky, you two help her as she needs ya.”
The three looked back and forth between them and assured the others that they would be on call to assist as needed and able.
“If you can’t think of anything else, I’m going to go home for a few minutes, catch a few Z’s, shower, eat something other than a Twinkie and then I’ll be back. If you need me patch it through Arlene,” the large man declared.
Just before noon a determined Mrs. Lillian Wood, accompanied by Ms. Blanche Delaney and their driver, Mr. Marcus, entered the foyer area of the Sheriff’s office. A notice and receipt in hand from the Lowndes County Court instructing the Sheriff’s Department to release Seymour into the care of his mother. The reunion was sweet, Seymour more than happy to be out of the jail issued coveralls and back in his jeans. The foursome was on their way out the front doors when a voice hollered across the office, feminine but barking nonetheless.
“Ms. Delaney, don’t leave just yet, will you!” the shout came from the back of the office area.
Deputy Guest could be seen moving quickly through the desks and chairs to reach the group.
“I have a couple of quick questions for you if you don’t mind, will only take a second,” the officer said.
“Sure, you guys just wait for me outside, I’ll be right out,” Blanche said.
Officer Guest directed Blanche into the Sheriff’s office, she was sure he wouldn’t care.
“I was wondering if you’ve given anymore thought to who might be causing these problems for Jasper and Seymour? I have a possible suspect in mind but I’d rather hear it from you before I plant the information in your head, if you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I have thought about it but can’t say there’s anybody…, wait a minute, there is somebody that is a little odd but he’s not done anything to me, if that’s what you’re after?”
“Not necessarily, but even odd behavior that struck you as unusual,” the deputy further clarified what she was looking for.
“Working with the public we run into odd behavior all the time, but directed specifically at me, there is a guy that has been in the library a couple times in the past few weeks. His name is Rob, was in just yesterday, struck me as odd, kind of hitting on me, but said he had a girlfriend he was trying to convince to move to California with him. Sounded like the move was imminent.”
“Describe him for me,” Guest requested.
The librarian did so with amazing clarity and recollection, speaking faster than Natalie could keep up. A few minutes later the two had worked out a statement, which Blanche read over and confirmed it was a concise overview of the things she had reported to the deputy. Blanche signed the statement, as she was familiar with doing by now, and was about to leave when the deputy thought of one more thing.
“Did anybody else see this guy or were you working alone?” she asked.
“Yeah, for sure, Mr. Marcus, the gentleman with us today acting as our chauffeur talked with him as well,” Blanche replied.
Officer Guest could hardly contain her excitement. The description given to her was a dead ringer for Lester Cummings and now she had a second witness that could also put Lester in the mix. It was interesting that he had chosen to use the name Rob when speaking with Blanche. The deputy made sure to write everything down this time around. She asked that Blanche send him in and she went through the same process with Marcus. The custodian issued a more vague description but generally the same as Blanche. He agreed to provide any further information that came to mind, signed the statement and left with the others.
Beverly was disappointed that she’d not heard from Felix after their morning romp the day before, but was sure she would get a chance to pull his chain again today. He’d said something about the property they had met over and the possibility of an offer, which would certainly be the icing on the cake for the realtor. She reviewed her calendar for the day, over her usual cup of coffee, picked up the house a bit before she dressed and headed to her office. The planner reminded her of the date she had with Blanche for the following night, she was so anxious to tell her about the new man that had swept into her life and bedroom.
In the late afternoon she finally heard from Felix. He apologized for not getting back to her sooner but had been on the phone non-stop with the developers. They had come to an agreement, at least from their side, in terms of an offer with a few ‘subject to’s’ still in place. Felix told her he had done his best to hammer out an agreement that he thought would be acceptable to all parties and was anxious to present it to her. He also indicated that he wanted to show her something else and would be by later to do just that. The con man was vague on the time he would do the presenting but asked her to be home from 6:00 p.m. and on, that way she wouldn’t miss him. Beverly was more than excited; perhaps she was turning the corner on a newfound and more fulfilling life.
Just that morning her lawyer had phoned saying that Mr. Jeremy Marshall, her stepson, had contacted their office, with one last lowball offer of ten million, which they flatly turned down given the prior direction they had received from Beverly herself. The lawyer suggested that with no further hang-ups there was a possibility that she’d be a millionaire by Christmas. He was careful not to give her too much hope as Jeremy had already filed a petition to reduce the amount arbitrarily assigned by the court as the final value of the estate. The Marshall lawyers were contesting the value assigned in a market that was in an undeniable downturn. Beverly was disappointed but not surprised, in any case, she knew the estate issue was winding down and she could soon get on with her life and maybe her new love.