Porterville

This story is purely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to person's living or dead, or to events that may have occurred, is purely coincidental.

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Mark Stevens

Porterville 26

CHAPTER 26

After Glenn Redding agreed to make a trip to Porterville, Britt had reserved a room for the lawyer at one of the nicer hotels in town. The rooms were much larger than usual, and each one had a connecting study that would come in handy with all of the paper work Britt expected the man to have. When Glenn called and announced he was in Porterville, Britt gave him directions to the Hampton Inn. Next he reached Devon on his cell phone. He told him Glenn was in town and asked if he could arrange to get away for a short meeting. Devon agreed and the three met in the lobby of the hotel.

Britt introduced the two, and they went up to Glenn's room. The lawyer had lots of questions and asked the two to fill him in on everything that had taken place.

"Leave nothing out," he told them.

Much later Britt said, "That's everything in a nutshell, Glenn. What's your take on it?"

Glenn leaned back in his chair. He had taken notes on everything they had told him, and now he pushed his note pad to the side.

"One thing that jumps out at me at the moment is the diamond you say you found near the scene of the so-called accident. Where is the diamond now?"

"I hid it for safe keeping," Britt told him. "I wasn't too concerned until someone broke into my mother's home while we were away. When that happened, I realized how important the stone could be in tying in with Margaret Cooper's death."

"You are absolutely right. If we can find out who the owner is, then we can definitely place someone at the scene. You're certain it doesn't belong to anyone in the Cooper household?"

"Devon feels pretty sure the diamond belongs to his mother."

Glenn turned to Devon and asked, "Is that true?"

Devon gave a nod with his head. "I feel certain it belongs to her."

"I think she bought it locally here in Porterville," Britt said. "In fact, when I took it to the local jeweler I feel sure he recognized it."

"You have the name of the shop? As expensive as this thing sounds, I'll guarantee you somebody has it insured. I have ways and means of finding out insurance information without much effort at all."

"The man's name that owns the store is George Carson. When I showed it to him, he told me he wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't worth ten thousand; could be even more."

They watched the lawyer reach for his pad and jot something down. Then he stood to his feet.

"If you guys will give me some time, I might even find something out this afternoon," he told them.

Britt invited Glenn out for dinner that evening, but the lawyer refused.

"I appreciate the offer, Britt, but I think for now, I would like to avoid being seen with you and Devon. This is a relatively small town. I'd like to keep a low profile for the time being. That way, if no one can connect the two of you to me, I'll have more freedom to move around town. I'll keep you posted."

"Sounds good, Glenn," Britt said.

When Britt and Devon reached the parking lot, Britt asked, "Are you going back to work?"

"I think I will. The idea of a low profile suits me quite well. If I'm gone too long someone may think they need to alert my mother of my absence. I'm sure she has spies all over town, especially near my office."

The two men separated, each going a different way. Devon returned to his job, and Britt headed for the newspaper office. He had a few more things to sort out before calling it a day.

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"Is something wrong, Britt? You've hardly touched your food."

When Britt arrived at his mother's house, he found the woman putting the finishing touches to the evening meal. She had greeted him with a smile.

"Something told me you would be here this evening," she said. "I'm glad I was right."

As he sat at the table with Catherine, he found himself pushing the food around on his plate. There wasn't a thing wrong with the meal; yet, it seemed tasteless to Britt.

"Your meal is delicious as always," he hastened to assure his mother.

"Then something must be on your mind. I have a good listening ear, should you feel the need to talk."

He gave the woman a smile. "I appreciate that, Mom. You are correct; I have a lot going through my mind. However, at this point I think the less you know the better off you will be." He didn't add that he thought she would be safer as well. Britt did not trust Elaine McKenzie at all, and he would put nothing past her. And what was even scarier was the fact she probably had other people doing her dirty work. Leave it to the woman to have someone else do the work for her.

"Just know that I am here if you need me," Catherine said as she pushed her plate to the side.

"You didn't finish your meal," Britt pointed out.

His mother gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I had a big lunch," she said.

Britt didn't think his mother was being completely truthful with him, but he remained silent. He watched as she began clearing the table. He was in the process of lending her a hand when his cell phone rang.

He retrieved it from his pocket and saw that the caller was Glenn Redding.

"Hey, Glenn," he greeted.

The lawyer asked if he was free to talk, and Britt told him he was.

"I uncovered one interesting fact," Glenn said. "I did some checking and discovered that just last week an insurance company paid a sum of one hundred thousand dollars to one Elaine McKenzie who lives in Porterville, Oklahoma. The claim was turned in to the company three days after Margaret Cooper's death."

"How in the hell did you find that information?" Britt asked.

"Let's just say I was thinking about purchasing a very expensive diamond ring for my wife. Someone recommended George Carson's jewelry store, and I went to see what he had to offer. Of course I was concerned about protecting my investment, so naturally I asked the owner what company he would recommend me to use. He didn't hesitate one bit. He immediately gave me the name of a company he trusted."

"So, other than this placing Elaine McKenzie at the scene of Margaret's accident, what else can it do?"

"For starters, just placing the McKenzie woman at the scene is a good thing for us. I don't suppose there is anyone on the police force here in town you would trust to go to with this information?"

"Probably not," Britt answered. "I'll do some checking first thing in the morning and see if I can come up with anything."

"I was thinking that perhaps if there was we might set up a trap and catch the bad guy or guys. Having the diamond puts a hell of a ball in our court. Not to mention the shit it's going to cause when we notify the insurance company that we probably have the diamond they've just paid for. Speaking of the diamond, can you bring it to me tomorrow? I really need to see it."

Britt told him he could do that and a short time later ended his telephone conversation with the lawyer. He was toying with the idea of giving Devon a call when the man made the decision for him. His number showed up on Britt's cell phone screen.

"Have you heard from your lawyer?" Devon asked.

He told him he had in fact, just had a telephone conversation with the man. He gave Devon the information concerning his mother's diamond ring.

"Oh, shit," Devon breathed.

Britt agreed with him and added, "I can't begin to think what havoc this is going to cause when the news is out that the ring has been found. One thing for certain, your mother's insurance company is definitely going to want their money back."

"Have you heard anything from Alice?"

"Not since earlier this evening. She and I left at the same time."

"I was thinking about going over and making sure she is alright. Care to come along?"

"Are you worried about her?" Britt asked.

Devon didn't answer right away, and during this time Britt heard the crackling sound that's sometimes in the background of a telephone call.

"Devon, are you still on the line?"

"I am. I was thinking about what you just asked me. I can't say I'm actually afraid for Alice, but at the same time, we both have to admit there is nothing my mother wouldn't do to cover her tracks and save her precious little town."

"Then perhaps we should go over. You want me to meet you at Alice's?"

"I'd like that."

The two men agreed to meet in Alice's drive way a short time later, and Britt went in search of his mother. He found her in the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm going over to check on Alice. Would you care to go with me? It might do you good to get out of the house for a while."

Catherine was standing at her kitchen sink. She turned around and faced her son.

"First of all, I have been gone from home most of the day. My plans are to take my shower and settle in with a good book. And another thing," she added. "I am perfectly capable of staying by myself." Then as a smile appeared on her face she said, "I appreciate you being concerned for me, Britt."

Britt walked over and gave his mother a hug. "I'm just trying to take care of you, Mom."

"And you're doing a good job of it. I'll be fine. Go and check on Alice."

Britt's telephone went off in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the screen.

"Speaking of Alice, she's calling me."

He greeted, "Hey, Alice, what's up?"

Alice seemed very excited about something. She was talking fast, and Britt had trouble understanding her words.

"Slow down, Alice," he told her. "I can't understand a thing you're saying."

Britt listened closely, and this time he heard her perfectly.

"Someone has broken into my home," she told him. "Everything's a mess."

"I'm on my way, Alice. Devon should be there soon. Are you inside your house?"

She told him she was.

"Get outside," he said. "I'm sure you're alone, but you never know. Get back in your car and lock yourself in. We'll be there shortly."

Britt closed his cell phone and looked at his mother. He told her someone had broken into Alice's home.

"Oh, my God," Catherine groaned. "Go to her, Britt. You and I both know what that feels like."

Britt reminded her to make sure her house was secured as he hurried out the door to his car.

As he made his way across town to the Cooper home, Britt's thoughts were focused on Alice. What did she have that someone would go to the trouble of breaking in and stealing? He wondered. By her own admission, she lived quite the simple life. One thing the Cooper family hadn't had was wealth during Alice's growing up years. While they hadn't wanted for anything, there hadn't been a great deal of anything extra either.

A few minutes later he pulled into Alice's driveway. Devon's vehicle was already there. He jumped from his car and ran up the steps. Britt opened the door and hurried inside. He discovered Alice sitting on the couch with Devon by her side.

"I called the police," Devon said by way of greeting.

Alice had tears in her eyes. "While I'm not certain, I believe the only thing they took was Mother's journal."

"Damn it!" Britt exclaimed.

It had crossed his mind earlier that perhaps he should insist Margaret's journal be kept in a safe place. However, when he had mentioned it to Alice, she had seemed to want it to remain in the house with her.

"I'm sorry, Britt," she said. "You wanted to protect it. I should have let you."

Britt hurried to her and reaching down, gave Alice a hug. "It's all right, Alice. The main thing is that you're okay. It scares the hell out of me when I think you could have come home during the break-in."

"Alice, I hope you get your journal back because I realize how much it means to you," Devon said. "However, if you don't, I believe your mother has told us everything we need to know. I promise you, I will do everything in my power to help you recover it."

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a police officer. The man came into the house at Alice's invitation. He asked her several questions, including if she knew who might want her mother's journal badly enough to break into her home and take it.

Alice shook her head and told the man she didn't think it would be of any interest to anyone other than herself. The officer, who introduced himself as Brian Poteet, disagreed with her.

"I think you're wrong, Miss Cooper. From the looks of things here, I would say someone wanted it and would do anything to find it. You're positive nothing else was taken?"

"I don't know for certain. This is how I found things when I arrived home and discovered the door forced open."

"How long ago was this?"

"About forty-five minutes."

"Did you not come home straight from work?" Britt asked.

"No, I didn't. I wasn't particularly looking forward to a long evening, so I went to the early movie."

"It's a lucky thing you did," Officer Poteet said. "Otherwise, it's more than likely you would have walked into the middle of something that could have not had a very pretty ending."

"I'm grateful you had plans," Devon said. "I shudder to think what could have happened."

The officer searched through the rest of the house with Alice on his heels, but nothing else seemed to be missing.

As they came back into Alice's living room, Brian said, "Looks as if you are right, Miss Cooper. According to you, nothing else seems to be missing. I'm still amazed your mother's journal was the only thing somebody wanted."

"One never knows, Officer Poteet," Britt said, "what might be learned from a journal."

Turning to Alice, the officer asked, "Do you have someplace you can go tonight? I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay here alone. Not that I expect the robber or robbers to return; however, I think you would rest better if you weren't by yourself. At least for tonight," he added.

"Mom has a guest room," Britt spoke up. He pulled his phone from his pocket. "I'll just give her a call."

"That's too much trouble, Britt. I'll be okay."

"I'm sure you probably would, but I'm not going to argue with you; at least for tonight."

Speaking into his phone, Britt said, "Mom, we need to get the guest room ready for a guest. Alice doesn't need to spend tonight alone at home. I think she'll feel safer with us."

He listened to his mother telling him she always kept it ready. She would do some quick straightening up and assured him the room would be ready when Alice arrived.

"Thanks, Mom," he said and ended his call. "There, it's done," he said giving Alice a smile.

"I don't want to cause anyone extra work," Alice sighed.

"Alice, my mother is the perfect host, and nothing pleases her more than to have a guest to wait on. I'll warn you; she will have a huge breakfast ready for you in the morning. And before you object, just know that's her. The woman's almost seventy years old, and she's not going to change now."

Devon smiled warmly and said, "I'm glad you're not staying here tonight. I'll sleep much better knowing you are safe."

"Devon...I...I'm sorry things seem to be working out the way they are. I hope you realize I would never do anything to cause you embarrassment."

Britt spoke before Devon could respond to Alice's remark. At least for the time being, he wasn't willing to let anyone else in on what the three of them suspected.

"Hey, don't worry about this big lug, Alice. He's stronger than you give him credit for."

Devon tried to keep the look of surprise off his face. It took him a moment to realize what Britt was trying to accomplish, but when he did, he went along with the game.

"Yeah, I'm strong, Alice. There's nothing you can do to upset me."

They left it that way and hoped the police officer assumed they were referring to Alice and Devon being a couple. Evidently Brian Poteet took it the way they meant for him to, because he didn't comment any further. Instead, he had Alice sign some paperwork. He gave her a copy and walked to the door.

"You can reach me at the telephone number at the top of your report," he said. "If anything at all turns up, or you happen to think of something you didn't tell me, please, give me a call. I want to help you any way I can, Miss Cooper."

Britt thanked the man, and he left, leaving the three of them in Alice's small living room. Britt suggested they try to straighten things up some before they left for the night.

When the house had been restored to its usual neat and orderly condition, Alice rode with Britt to the Williams home. Devon followed them in his own vehicle. As they hurried up the front steps, Catherine opened the door and invited them inside her home.

"Alice, dear, I am so sorry to hear about the robbery. I am glad my son brought you home with him. We'll keep you safe."

Alice stepped inside, followed by Britt and Devon. She reached for Catherine's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I just hate that I am so much trouble, Mrs. Williams. I tried to convince Britt and Devon that I would be just fine staying at home, but they wouldn't hear of it."

"As well they shouldn't," Catherine declared. "You belong here where we can take care of you. Britt, why don't you take Alice's bag to the guest room? I've made iced tea out in the kitchen. I can serve it in the living room, or we can sit at the kitchen table; whichever you prefer."

"The kitchen's fine, Catherine," Devon assured her.

"You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble, Mrs. Williams," Alice protested.

"It was no trouble at all. And please, call me Catherine'. Mrs. Williams' was my mother in law. She was an old woman."

Her words brought laughter from her guests, and she smiled at them. "Let's enjoy the tea, shall we?"

When they entered her kitchen, Catherine's guests discovered she had placed a try of cookies in the middle of the table.

"I see you've been busy, Mom," Britt acknowledged as he entered the room last.

"You know me, Britt; I most always have cookies around the house. I never know when unexpected, but most welcomed company will appear at my door."

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When Britt came into the kitchen the next morning, he found his mother cooking breakfast. He watched as she filled a large plate with bacon and sausage.

Catherine opened the oven door and placed a large pan of biscuits on the counter. She turned and gave her son a smile.

"Good morning," she greeted. "Is Alice moving around yet?"

"She's in the shower I think."

"Good. I'll go tap on the door and ask how she likes her eggs. Don't touch anything," she said as Britt reached for a piece of bacon. She slapped playfully at his hand.

When Alice joined them for breakfast, she looked rested, and Britt mentioned the fact.

"I slept well," she admitted.

Catherine told her to take a seat at the table. "I'm glad, dear. Perhaps you should stay here until the police get to the bottom of this mess."

Alice tried to object, but Britt agreed with his mother, and very loudly at that.

"I think you should listen to Mom," he replied.

"I'll think about it," Alice promised.

"No thinking to it. It's settled." Britt sat down at the table. "It's been decided for you, Alice."

Catherine had prepared a delicious breakfast, and the three of them enjoyed the meal. The kitchen contained a warm and cozy element, and Alice and Britt would both have liked to remain there but work called them.

After his third cup of coffee, Britt pushed his chair back and stood to his feet. "We'd love staying here with you, Mom, but some of us have to work."

"Do I need to remind you how hard I work at the Center?"

Britt gave his mother a tender smile. "Yes, Mom, I know you work hard. I keep telling you to retire, but you won't listen to me."

"I'll retire right after I expire," she informed her son.

"That line's been around about as long as you have, Mom. You need to get a new one," he added.

Alice thanked Catherine for her hospitality and followed Britt to the door.

"I'll see you this evening, Alice." Catherine turned to her son. "You make sure she comes home with you," she told her son.

"No need to worry. She'll come if I have to tie her up and drag her all the way here," Britt assured his mother.

When the two of them walked through the door at the Beacon, they were greeted by Sam.

"Are you all right, Alice?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Sam." \ "I received the police report," Sam said. "Did the thieves take much?"

"Nothing except my mother's journal," she answered.

Sam scratched his head. "That don't make any sense," he said.

"There's a lot that doesn't make sense," Britt said. He pulled a small bag from his pocket.

"What's in the bag, Britt?" Sam asked.

Britt opened the bag and dumped something into the palm of his hand. He held it up for Sam to see.

"Say, isn't that the diamond you found near the spot where Margaret had her accident?"

Britt gave a nod. "It is," he answered. "I gained some information last night. I'm pretty sure this has been turned in for collection and some insurance company has paid out heavily for somebody's loss."

Sam wanted to know who received the money, but Britt told him he would have to wait.

"I can't say just yet, Sam; however, you have my word. The moment I know something for certain, you'll get the scoop."

"Can't ask for more than that," Sam said. He told them he had work to do and disappeared from sight.

Britt had nothing in particular he wanted to accomplish until he heard from his lawyer. He was expecting the man to give him a call sometime during the morning and explain what was next on the agenda. Until then, he planned on reviewing a lot of the files he had already examined, checking to make sure he hadn't skipped over something important.

Alice went to work at her desk, and Britt sat down at his desk and opened the computer before him. He was almost finished with a file when his cell rang. He pulled it from his pocket and saw that his caller was Devon.

"Hey, Devon," he greeted. "What's up?"

"Something has happened."

Devon's voice sounded choked up like he was having trouble breathing.

"Babe, what's wrong? Where are you?"

"I'm at my mother's. Please come. I need you. I..."

The telephone went dead as Britt held it next to his ear.

He called Devon's name, but there was no answer. He felt a combination of dread and fear beginning to control his body... his thinking. Britt jumped to his feet and hurried to the front office.

"I'm going to Devon," he told Alice. "Something has happened. He needs me."

Alice pushed her chair back and stood to her feet. "I'm going with you," she said. She called out to Sam and told him they were leaving.

She and Britt hurried out the door, leaving a baffled and speechless newspaperman behind with his mouth wide open.