The River Waits for Murder Read online

  The River Waits for Murder

  Second in the Burgenton File series

  C. Ruth Daly

  Text Copyright © 2015 C. Ruth Daly

  All Rights Reserved

  In memory of Dick, Julie, and Tom Mc C., the spirits of Franklin Street

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  .

  This story is fiction. Any resemblance to setting or people is a coincidence.

  Chapter One

  Evan Miles spat a wad of chew at the dusty earth beneath his feet and coughed with a gut-wrenching spasm; his belly shook as he bent over to apply more force to his expectoration. With contemplation, he straightened up and took another dip from the can in his shirt pocket. The brilliant sky over his head had been the ceiling of his home and he squinted at its blueness. His time in Arizona was almost up. Evan had been homesick when he first arrived in the high desert where the vastness of land stretched before him with red and orange corners on the horizon. He once longed for the trees of Indiana, but now he felt protected by the endless sky and the distant mesas.

  “Hey Ralph,” Evan smiled and looked down at the old dog limping up to him. “What’s wrong with ya boy?”

  He leaned over and pulled a shard of stone from Ralph’s paw, scratched him behind the ears, then turned around to answer the voice calling him from the pale adobe duplex.

  “Evan, ready for breakfast?” Donna yelled from behind the brown painted post on the front porch.

  Donna McNally had treated Evan like a brother— or a son for the past three years ever since she picked him up at his sister’s grave and the two of them headed out of Burgenton. Sometimes he wanted to answer and call her Mom or Linda, his dear dead sister, but he knew both Mom and Linda were gone for good. Linda, the victim of a heinous murder, and his mom, well she didn’t love him anymore now that his dad and Linda were dead. Mom had found a replacement family after Dad’s death, and Evan was left alone. His only family up until three years ago was his hometown, Burgenton, but he had to leave with Donna and come to Arizona because of the gold and all of the trouble it was causing. Donna and Ralph had been his family for the past three years. Even though he wasn’t in Burgenton, he still felt like he was at home with Donna.

  Evan turned and trudged through the dust and into the house; its walls lined with heavy saddle blankets of browns and reds to keep both the heat of day and the cold of the winter nights from creeping through. Even though Evan still slept outside when the weather permitted, which was just about all of the time, he did have a fondness for the way Donna decorated her home. In some ways it made him feel like he was back in the horse trailer out in the woods, but he’d never tell Donna that the home she was proud of resembled the despicable box where the murderer, Ned Hollis, had thrown Donna to the ground and tried to kill her over a decade ago. The son-of-a-bitch was dead and the death he got was owed to him, Evan reminded himself every day when he thought about how Hollis had killed his sister years ago and in turn, destroyed his family.

  Donna placed a plate with a crispy burrito full of eggs and sausage on the table before him then sat at the other end of the little, round table covered with an olive colored table cloth. A steaming cup of coffee was at Donna’s place along with a banana and a half-eaten tortilla. Donna held the cup to her mouth and looked at Evan through her steam-covered lenses.

  “I heard from home today, Evan. I think it’s time for us to go back. Glynda said that Trevor’s developed the land already and buyers from as far away as Chicago—just like Trevor planned, have bought the cottages in the woods. There’s been no question as to where he got the money. Glynda says most everyone thinks it’s all from his dad’s realtor business. You know my work contract is ending, and the lease is up on this place at the end of the month. This might be a good time to go back and see everyone. I haven’t seen my mom in three years…”

  Donna’s words stopped there as Evan lowered his eyes.

  “I know you miss your family, Evan. I’m sorry. I do have a family, though, and it’s not fair of you to act like I shouldn’t have one. Now that Trevor and LBJ are engaged, well… Lori Bell will soften him—I hope at least. You know she’s moving into her mom’s old place now that Grandpa is dead and her mom’s moved on to Arkansas.”

  Evan shoved his plate in front of him and stared at Donna with a deep sadness in his eyes. He wanted to go back to Burgenton, but he also knew he’d have to go back, face Trevor and face the fact that his woods were gone—just like his family and everything else sacred to him. Evan had developed a fondness for the desert with its bluffs and mesas stretching across the endless horizon. He remembered how he trusted Trevor, but the bastard tried to cheat them all and take the gold just to make the woods where Evan lived for years while protecting the gold, a playground for Yuppies from Chicago.

  “What will happen to me, Donna?” Evan asked with a child-like innocence.

  The thought had not really occurred to Donna. She didn’t want to take him with her forever. The arrangement was temporary until things had settled down. She had her share of the Confederate gold and Evan’s too, tucked away in a safe deposit box in a Winslow bank waiting for the time to move on, and she waited to hear if anyone knew about the secret discovery snatched away from the late Ned Hollis. Donna wondered about Rita Brennan, the schoolteacher and Hollis’s former girlfriend, who gave her the map of the treasure carefully hidden in the back of a photo over a decade ago. Whatever happened to Rita? Donna pondered, still watching Evan and evaluating his mood. After living with Evan for three years Donna came to notice his mood swings and manipulating behaviors—always wary of the fact Evan had to see a special doctor in Indianapolis after his sister’s murder. He was still a fragile little boy beneath the gruff and unkempt exterior.

  “Don’t worry Evan. It will work out.” It was Donna’s constant response. She found herself telling him this all of the time. We’re running low on cash because I’m not working now, Evan. She remembered the time a year ago when things weren’t at their best. It was then she said the same thing to him. “Don’t worry.” How can you tell someone, who lives a life with uncertainty and instability not to worry? Donna asked herself the question before answering Evan. “Okay, Evan. I’ll head into Flag tomorrow and check with Professor Lucero. I’ll see what he’s learned about the gold and if there’s anything we need to know before heading back to Burgenton.

  “We already know some about the gold—it’s worth something cause Trevor done spent it. And now my woods is gone and I don’t know where to go from here. Do you think you’ll come back here, Donna…and could I hitch a ride again?” Evan was hesitant and shaking his head he continued, “Or maybe it’s time for me to
move on and make something of myself. He stared at his burrito as if it were a crystal ball, “I don’t know what to do, Donna. Maybe I belong in Burgenton; after all, it’s home. See what the professor says tomorrow and then well, then I will decide what to do with the gold. I know you’re smarter about these things, Donna. I’ll trust ya to make the best choice for us.”

  Donna stared at Evan over the rim of her mug, “Okay, Evan,” she sighed, “let’s just see where my meeting with Professor Lucero takes us.”

  Chapter Two

  “Welcome, Donna. Come on in.” Professor Lucero opened the creaky door to his office and motioned for her to have a seat.

  “Hi, Professor Lucero… you know why I’m here—again.” Donna stressed the word as she had been to see the professor at least ten times during the past two years in her quest to learn more about the Confederate treasure, and after meeting with the history professor the third time, she was certain that the gold she and her friends had unearthed a few years earlier was part or the entirety of the Confederate gold Ned Hollis’s dad had somehow come across and left in the hands of Hollis’s adopted mother upon his death. She had only shown Professor Lucero one of the gold coins—Donna was not about to let the professor know she and her friends held a cache of coins between the five of them.

  “Well, Donna I’ve examined the coin and consulted a professor friend in Georgia. It certainly appears to be authentic. The date on the coin and what we do know about the gold, which many people have considered lore all of these years…well, Donna, it appears your single coin may be part of a treasure Confederate President Davis lost so many years ago at the end of the war. The question may be, where are the rest of the coins?”

  Donna looked Professor Lucero in the eyes. “That’s a good question, Professor. As you know, I received this single coin from a school teacher, Rita Brennan, who once dated the man I, well… killed unintentionally those ten some years ago when he chased me through the woods and tried to kill me. I don’t know if there are others. All I have is this single coin.”

  Professor Lucero turned the coin in his palm and his eyes met Donna’s.

  Donna breathed a mental sigh of relief as she realized the professor believed her lie. At least she hoped that he believed her and was not just indulging her insincerity.

  The professor continued as he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a manila folder full of files. “Let’s see, Donna. Where did I put those notes I took on the Hollister man? Oh yes, here they are.”

  His aged forehead wrinkled as the professor squinted at the lined notebook paper. Professor Lucero read his notes under his breath. "I think you will find this of interest, Donna. It appears a Franklin Hollis frequented a gambling hall adjacent to a bank in Washington, Georgia. The bank president, Oliver Fornsby, ironically, had his financial hand in both the bank and the gambling hall. It appears Hollis and the bank’s president not only exchanged gambling wagers, but also women.” The professor muttered under his breath as he read on.

  “Don’t leave anything out, Professor Lucero. I need to know anything you’ve learned from your research.”

  The professor’s eyes rested on Donna. “Very well…this next piece of information may be of interest to you. Records from both the bank and gambling ledger state Franklin Hollister won a significant sum of unidentifiable coinage worth about three-hundred thousand dollars in that period of time, Donna. It also appears Hollis won the services of the Washington banker’s mistress.” Professor Lucero looked up at Donna. “That’s about all we have for you. Do you think the man who died got this coin from his father?”

  “That’s a good question, Professor. He must have. Do you think there are many more coins out there?” Donna asked with a hint of curiosity and innocence. She wanted to convince the man she didn’t know any more than what he knew.

  “Certainly if there is one, then there should be others. The value of the coin appears to be in today’s standards around five-thousand dollars due to the historical implications. I will return this to you, Donna. I’ve held onto it longer than I should have.”

  “I want to thank you, Professor Lucero.” Donna spoke as she reached out her hand and took the coin from his cupped palm. “You have really helped me out and I won’t forget it. I promise I will pay you for your time. I want to at least give you this check today.”

  Donna laid a check payable in the sum of one hundred dollars on the professor’s desk. “Thank you so much for all of your help and interest.”

  Professor Lucero picked up the check and the corners of his mouth turned up in a tight-lipped smile. “I’d be curious to know now what you find out, Donna. I’ve gotten to know you, Donna, and you are not one to be satisfied with this tale of the Hollis man. It sounds as if there may be more to this story than what I have found. Here’s my card and keep in touch. Let me know when you’ve discovered something in this saga. I’m just a phone call away.”

  Donna smiled slightly and reached out to shake his hand, “Thanks again, and I will keep in touch.” She turned and headed out the door. Near the corner of Professor Lucero’s office stood a tall, slender young man about twenty-eight. Hmm…graduate student, Donna thought, as he smiled at her. She returned the gesture. Unknown to her, the handsome man with the wavy brown hair had been listening to her conversation with the professor. She continued down the hall, and before she exited into the brilliant blueness of the afternoon sky, a woman passed her. Donna felt a sense of familiarity come over her and she glanced behind her to see a slight woman with straight brown hair tied at the nape of her neck with a thick barrette. She shook her head, funny, she thought, but no…no, it’s just my imagination. “Was that who I thought it was?” Donna muttered to herself and then dismissed the thought as she left the building and hopped into her truck.

  The woman peeked around the corner of Professor Lucero’s office door, “Hello darling, how did it go? What did she tell you?”

  Steven Lucero leaned across his desk and planted a kiss on the lips of his longtime girlfriend, “I think she’s coming around, honey. Don’t worry. Both you and I know the girl and she’s a loyal one.”

  The woman with the sparkling blue eyes smiled and said with a smile, “Yes, yes she is.”

  Chapter Three

  “Maybe Thelma does know something about the gold that we don’t know, Evan.” Donna glanced in his direction to make sure he was still awake.

  They had left the Arizona border about an hour ago and were heading east through New Mexico and on to Oklahoma. Evan had his last drunken binge the night before. Donna awoke in the middle of the night to find Ralph scratching at the back door looking for his master. It was then she realized Evan had hoofed it to the trading post five miles down the road to tie one on with the owner, Chuck. The two were kindred spirits—both souls lost in the ebb of life’s tide—cast away by family, friends; the two found loyalty and compassion in each other—not to mention a penchant for Thunderbird and Scotch. Donna hopped in her truck and headed down the rode with Ralph in the bed howling at the starlit sky and whatever else crept across the desert unknown to Donna or any other human. Evan’s nighttime excursion cost her a good night’s rest, and now here he was, sound asleep and drooling on his beard while she sped across the hot asphalt with Ralph’s bobbing head over her right shoulder. It would be a long trip, but worth it.

  Donna thought about her mother and how she must have aged. Her sisters and brother, who still lived in the Burgenton area and their kids—how had they changed in the three years? Little Matt would be close to thirteen now. Hard to believe Irish and Gil now had three kids. Life was perfect for Irish, and Gil still doted on her just as he did when Irish was a senior in high school and pregnant with Matt. Most of her friends were finding romance, but not me, Donna thought. Lori Bell and Trevor were marrying in August. They were more alike than Donna had realized. Lori was giving up her career to return to her old house in the country and settle down with Mr. Mega-reality. Trevor must have got a hold of LBJ’s por
tion of the gold in order to develop those acres of woods along the river, she thought. Evan had told Donna about Trevor’s financial problems and the fact that no bank would float Trevor a loan for another potential failure. Trevor had confided in Evan during those years when the two sat out in the horse trailer sipping beers until wee hours of the morning. Trevor’s ambition and greed seemed to be the driving force of his emotional savings, and this concerned Donna for he was marrying her lifelong friend, who happened to be of substantial means because of the family’s farm.

  It will be good to see Glynda, Donna thought about her giggly friend, who still lived in her Grandma Becker’s old house with her two boys, and like Donna, Glynda was a caretaker, too, except Glynda’s situation offered more permanence for Rodney was Glynda’s brother whereas Evan was only Donna’s friend. And he’s not really much of a friend when Donna thought about it. Here she was always cooking for him, cleaning his clothes, driving him into town; reassuring Evan when he despaired and complained no one in the world cared about him. Donna wondered what to do with Evan once they got to Burgenton. I was naïve, she thought as she remembered telling Evan to come to Arizona with her three years ago. It was a hasty decision and after three years of being Evan’s caretaker, she was ready to unload him once they hit the Burgenton boundary. She sighed, took a swig of coffee from the Styrofoam cup with her teeth marks around the rim, and headed over the Oklahoma line.

  After six hours of sleep Evan finally awoke and asked Donna if he could have a cigarette. Weary from the drive, Donna snapped back. “Look, Evan, I’ve been driving for over seven hours without a break—just drinking coffee from this cup and pouring it from this thermos, which of course, I spilled all over my pants. No! No, you can’t have a cigarette. Why don’t you take the wheel while I try to clean off myself?”