Murder in Humboldt Read online

  Rita found me a table off to the left of the entrance – away from the bar, hostess station and restrooms. It was perfect. With the soft dance music in the background, we should be able to have a quiet comfortable conversation.

  I was sipping on my second Jack/Coke when Rita came over to my table at 3:35. “Carson, there is a lady up front who asked for me and said she was meeting Mr. Drake.”

  “That’s right, Rita, that’s her. Please bring her over to the table.”

  “No, that’s wrong!” Rita was shaking her head, “Because there are TWO ladies, not one. Do you want me to bring them both over?”

  I looked at Rita and thought for a minute. “Yes, I guess so, that’s fine. Bring them both over and add another glass.”

  “Can do,” she said as she shuffled off around the corner.

  With Rita escorting, the two women slowly approached my table. Traveling from the dim light of the hostess station, to the near darkness at my table - it was difficult for me to see my visitors, but I did my best to scope out my new guests. One lady was quite tall and built like a model, with legs that seemed to go all the way up to her armpits. She was blond, short hair, slim build, extremely attractive, and had her places in all the right places - if you know what I mean.

  The other lady was considerably shorter, strikingly attractive and very well put together. She was busty and did a good job of displaying her wares. She knew she was a woman and wanted everyone who looked at her to know it too. She had much darker hair, and like the tall one, had all her places in the right places.

  Both were dressed in business attire, medium length tight skits and jackets. It was difficult to see in the light, but I could tell that they were sporting a new tan - obviously fresh from South Beach. And, if it had not been for their expensive French perfume, I bet I could have smelled the tan - it was that fresh. The tall one was wearing a light gray and the shorter one a darker gray. For all anyone knew, they had both just left the corporate boardroom; however, jewelry just seemed to be hanging everywhere! A ‘finger rock’ on the shorter one’s left hand looked almost as large as a marble. The tall and slim one wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, but was sporting a similar diamond on her right pinky finger. Both had diamond earrings, and it was obvious that neither had been shorted on their money tree. These girls had been well kept.

  Unfortunately, they just didn’t seem to fit in with the regulars at ‘ The Starlight’ . The good news is this meeting shouldn’t take long.

  I stood and offered a cordial greeting and a handshake when they reached the table. I guessed the shorter one would be Mary Ellen Maxwell. This was confirmed by her greeting, which was followed by introducing her companion, Elizabeth Teague. Also further confirmed by the initials ET boldly displayed on her suit jacket.

  Rita remained at the table waiting on my signal. Beginning small talk, I offered wine, they accepted and Rita poured.

  “Thank you Rita,” I said signaling we should be left alone. “I’ll let you know if we need anything else.”

  Speaking to my table companions, “I hope you had a pleasant flight. I won’t ask about South Beach because I’ve been there and know it was great, it always is.”

  Mary Ellen spoke first and looked puzzled. “Yes, we had a great flight and a wonderful visit to Miami. But, I have the odd feeling that I have seen you somewhere before. Have we met?”

  “Yes, Mary Ellen, we have. My name is Carson Reno. I’m sure you remember me from high school – Humboldt.”

  “Oh my!” She seemed more confused. “Where is Mr. Drake? I spoke with him, and we had planned a meeting for here this afternoon.”

  “Mary Ellen, the person you spoke with was me,” I said looking directly at her. “I own Drake Detective Agency. There is no Mr. Drake that I am aware of.”

  ET spoke, “How odd!”

  “Yes, it is odd,” I replied. “But that isn’t the reason you’re here and that isn’t the reason I’m here.”

  “Oh, but it is!” Mary Ellen blurted. “I thought I was hiring a private and discrete detective to look into my personal affairs. Instead, I get some old high school chum, who probably couldn’t be private or discrete about anything!”

  “Mary Ellen, that is simply not true,” I answered frankly. “There is no trickery intended here. You sent me a letter and I am just responding to your request.”

  “No, I did NOT request you!” Mary Ellen shouted. “I requested someone named Drake, or I would have thought his name was Drake. What idiot would name his business after someone else? I guess you are that idiot – right? Listen, if I had wanted all of Humboldt to know about my business affairs, I would put them in the paper. I would not have some old classmate running around where he doesn’t belong and making me look stupid!”

  ET spoke again “Look Mary Ellen, let’s just go. It’s obvious this man is a liar and probably a crook. He’s just after money; I can see it in his eyes.”

  In my eyes?

  “Mary Ellen, you could not be more wrong,” I pleaded. “I asked for this meeting to return your money.”

  ET spoke again “Oh sure, and then ask for more, right?”

  “Wrong,” I replied and then looked across the table at Elizabeth Teague. “And do you mind if I have this conversation with Mary Ellen? Thank you very much.”

  This comment didn’t set well with Miss Teague and she quickly turned up her nose and commented, “Humph.”

  I turned back to Mary Ellen, retrieved an envelope from my inside jacket pocket and handed it to her. “Mary Ellen, here is an envelope with your $100, and a list of other detectives that can look into your problem. I had no intention of accepting your money. I knew that whatever you needed was not something I should be involved in.”

  “Oh, so you haven’t done anything yet. That’s good.” Her statement made me draw up!

  “Well, not exactly – not much anyway,” I said looking down.

  “What do you mean ‘not exactly and not much’? What does that mean?” She was glaring at me.

  “It means I did go to Humboldt to return your money. My parents live there, so it was something I would have done anyway. I wanted to see you personally, or talk with you on the phone, but you weren’t there. Eventually someone told me you were in Miami.” My words were stumbling all over each other and she was shaking her head as I spoke.

  “So, you didn’t speak to anyone about this - right?” Mary Ellen asked.

  “Well, not exactly.” I know I’m in real ‘do-do’ and getting in it deeper.

  “Here you go with the ‘not exactly’ again. Just ‘exactly’ who did you talk to and what about?”

  “Well...,” I was still stuttering. “When I couldn’t find you, I went to see your husband. I was thinking maybe he could tell me where to find you.”

  “Oh shit, Mr. Reno, Mr. Drake, or whatever your name is. How could you be so stupid? Now he knows that I know – I’m ruined!” Mary Ellen was very upset.

  “No, no,” I argued. “I only told him I was doing some business for you and needed to return some money. He knows nothing about the letter.”

  “Oh, really! So, just what do you think he thinks when a private investigator shows up trying to return money? He’s not stupid!”

  “To be honest, I believe he has so many other problems that he isn’t really thinking about me right now and probably not about you either.” I shouldn’t have said that last part.

  “That would be nothing new, he never thinks about me anyway, just that whore Judy Strong!” I could see tears building in her eyes.

  ET spoke again. “Mary Ellen, I bet Judy Strong is behind all this. Mr. Carson or Reno or Drake – whatever your name is, do you know Miss Judy Strong?”

  How do I get myself into things like this? “My name is Carson Reno and, yes, I casually know Miss Strong – we have met.” I don’t think they believed me. After all, I didn’t believe me! Why should they?

  ET spoke again. “See - see what I told you? She is behind this whole crazy sham. Come o
n, let’s go, let’s get out of this beer joint!”

  Mary Ellen took control. “Mr. Reno, we are leaving and I hope I never see you again. I especially hope to never see you in or around Humboldt.”

  I spoke before they stood up. “Mary Ellen, I need to be honest with you. So before you go, there is one other thing you need to know.”

  “Okay, let’s hear it,” Mary Ellen said gruffly.

  “You’ll hear it when you get back in town anyway, so you might as well hear it from me.” These words came out hard. “Your husband and I had a fight - a fight at the Humboldt Country Club.”

  That’s when she put her head down on the table and I heard a muffled cry. Thank God she didn’t have a gun! I think she would have shot me and everyone else in ‘The Starlight’.

  On the surface, and as they had heard my story, none of this made any sense. But, with Mary Ellen’s head down on the table, I had the chance to further talk through what had happened. Eventually, Mary Ellen raised her head, wiped off some tears and seemed to soften up – a little. Meanwhile ET sat quietly with her arms folded, ready to protect her friend, if needed.

  I told her most everything that had happened – leaving out my conversation with Leroy, my encounters with Bubba and Bobby and my visit by Judy – of course. Guess I skipped a lot – huh?

  But, when I told her that I believed someone had broken into her house, it just became too much. The tears started again and then they got worse.

  A trip to the ladies room with ET seemed to be appropriate and Rita sensed the problem and tagged along to help. Thank you Rita.

  Tension seemed to have eased when ET returned first back to the table, and I assumed Mary Ellen was still looking for composure in the powder room. She quickly sat down, folder her arms and said nothing. I asked, “So Liz, why is it I don’t recognize you – are you from Humboldt?”

  “Yes, but I’ve been away for some time,” she answered reluctantly. “I work as a flight attendant with Southern Airways, and spend most of my time in Memphis, Miami or Bermuda. I have an apartment here in Memphis, but do get back to Humboldt on occasion. My parents also still live there, you might know of them. The Teagues– they live on Main.”

  “Oh yes, sure.” I had NO idea who she was talking about!

  Finally, Mary Ellen returned with Rita by her side. “Carson, I think she’s better now. Please be nicer to our customers,” Rita said helping Mary Ellen into her chair and with that silly smile as she went back to her duties.

  Mary Ellen had her composure back and looked directly at me. “So, Carson Reno,” she asked. “Where do we go from here?”

  “We don’t go anywhere. You go home and I go back to work. I’m sorry that I have caused you trouble, but my intentions were only to help, please believe that. I promise to never enter your life again.” Unfortunately, that was a promise I would not be able to keep

  “Okay. Liz and I are going back to Humboldt. As far as anyone is concerned, this meeting never took place. You never got my letter and you never tried to return any money. I’ll figure some cover story to tell JR, not sure what, but I’ll think of something.”

  ~

  Without further conversation, they both got up and left me alone at the table. I sat in silence, watching them leave and then staring at the building Starlight crowd while sipping my wine. They had been gone from the table for over 10 minutes, but their perfume was still there. Amazing.

  Finally Rita came over and sat down. “Well, Mr. Detective, it seems the quality of your clients has taken itself up a couple of pegs,” she laughed.

  “Rita, I wish that were the case. I have done some stupid things in my life, but accepting money from one of them might have been my worst ever.”

  “The short one I bet.” She was observant.

  “Yes, but how did you know?”

  “Because she was the one controlling the conversation - in fact, she was the one controlling you. Besides, dumb blondes, like the slim one, wouldn’t have that kind of effect over you. I’ve seen you handle too many like her.”

  “Maybe so, Rita, maybe so,” I mumbled. “But if I ever get out of this mess, I’ll never get into another one like it. That’s a promise I CAN keep.”

  DAY SIX

  Tuesday

  How do I get myself into these situations? The bad guys tell you to do one thing and the law tells you to do something else. I guess you can fight the bad guys, but you can never fight the law, right?

  Leroy was the sheriff, but he was also my friend. I knew he would never send deputies to pick me up, but he also knew that I would never refuse his request – regardless of the reasons. Besides, I couldn’t tell him the ‘bad guys’ had given me $10,000 to stay away from Humboldt – that would be the wrong thing to do.

  I went by my office and told Marcie that I was making a quick trip to Humboldt and expected to return tomorrow. While there, I made a long distance call to Nickie at Chiefs and asked her to hold me a room. Unfortunately, she had nothing available- it seemed the union workers had all of the rooms taken. Of course, I could always stay at my parent’s house, but would prefer not to do that. Nickie suggested I try Tyler Towers or the Tennessee Motel.

  Tyler Towers was also full, but I was able to get a room at the Tennessee Motel – how ironic. But, at least I had a place to sleep tonight, and I hoped it would be for just one night.

  I had really only started my drive up Hwy 70/79, when I again spotted that 1960 Gray Plymouth following – a safe distance behind me. Of course, I knew who it was, and was quite certain they were under instructions to monitor my activities and keep me from going to Humboldt.

  It was about 11:30 when I got to Mason, TN. The Gray Plymouth was still following and I decided lunch would be a good idea. So, I pulled into Bozo’s Bar-B-Q for a sandwich and cold beer. Besides, I figured Bubba and Bobby were also getting hungry and they needed to eat, too. A happy and well-fed bad guy is better than an angry and hungry bad guy – right?

  I took a booth near the back and as close to the men’s room as possible. Bubba and Bobby chose the counter; they were making no attempt at being discrete. They wanted me to know they were here and would be following me wherever I went.

  Halfway through my sandwich and beginning my second beer, I got up, made my way into the men’s room and locked the door. The men’s room had one of these crazy swing-out windows, and it offered plenty of room for me to stand on the toilet and exit to the back parking area of Bozo’s. Their Gray Plymouth wasn’t locked, and I easily and quietly raised the hood. Then I proceeded to remove every wire I could get my hands on! This took less than 2 minutes, and I was back in the men’s room before B and B ever got suspicious.

  Glancing over, as I returned to my booth, I could sense they had gotten a little anxious at my extended absence. But, fortunately my return brought their tension level back to normal. They had no idea.

  I was taking my time, even ordering another beer after finishing the sandwich. I’m not sure what B and B were thinking, but I wanted them to believe that there was no urgency to my travel. It worked.

  Paying my check, I walked directly past them and into the parking area. They were up and only a few steps behind me when I jumped into the Ford and headed West back toward Memphis. I know that must have confused them, but probably not as much as when they hit the ignition on their Plymouth! I’m sure it would take a mechanic several days to put that motor back together. I had a pocket full of plug wires and other gadgets that even I didn’t recognize!

  Out of their sight and a mile down the road, I turned right on 59 and then north to 54 into Brownsville. There, I jumped back on 79 and headed toward Humboldt. I hope my little trick worked, at least long enough for me to get Leroy out of my hair and get back to Memphis.

  Arriving back in Humboldt, I decided to take care of business first. Driving out to Fruitland, I checked into Room 11 at the Tennessee Motel - they were full, and I evidently got a room due to a last minute cancellation. Then, I drove back into town and st
opped at the sheriff’s office to see Leroy.

  Sheriff’s Office and Jail

  Deputy Scotty Perry was on duty and behind the big desk just inside the front door.

  “Hey Scotty, is Leroy available?” I asked walking in the door.

  “Hey, Carson,” he said looking up from his work. “Long time no see. What brings you to town?” He didn’t answer my question.

  “Well I’m just not sure, maybe Leroy wants to buy me lunch. We talked yesterday, and he asked me drive up and stop by. Is he here?” I asked again.

  “Nope, and I’ve not been able to raise him on the radio either. Wayne Henley called earlier and said that the cows from the Price farm were loose and running up and down the Gadsden Highway, causing a real problem. If I can’t reach him soon I’ll have to lock up and go see about it myself. Anyway, I’ll keep trying; you want me to give him a message?”

  “Yes. Tell him I am in town, and I will be spending the night at the Tennessee Motel, Room 11. He can reach me there or at the VFW. Okay?”

  “No problem. What’s wrong with Chiefs? All the union thugs got it booked up?” Scotty questioned.

  “I guess so. Have you guys been having problems?”

  “Yes, and you know it. Fights, busted car lights, you name it and we’ve seen it during the past few days. Raymond and the city guys are patrolling almost 24x7 out on 22nd Avenue trying to keep peace.”

  “Leroy mentioned an FBI guy had stopped by. Is that true?”

  “You can believe it,” Scotty said shaking his head. “Roger Giltner set up camp here a few days ago with several of his agents. I have no idea what that is all about, but they must be staying in Jackson; there are too many of them and no motel rooms around here. I’m surprised you got one.”