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
I would like to welcome my previous as well as hopefully new readers back to enjoy this story. However, should you have not read any of the Porterville books before you should do so 1. Porterville 2. Murder in Porterville 3. Silver Candlesticks
All three stories are stand alone, however, a lot of the same characters from the first book return for more adventures.
To my old readers: Welcome back. To my new ones, welcome aboard.
Chapter Twelve
"I think you'll find this very interesting," Britt said handing the folder in his hand to Cory Manners.
The detective took the folder and began reading the contents. A moment later he looked up. His eyes were big and a look of surprise was on his face.
"Looks like we might be opening your case back up." The detective handed the file to Jerry Poteet.
Having glanced at the file before handing it to Cory, Britt asked, "Who the hell is Celeste George?"
"I can answer that," Jerry spoke up. "Celeste George was a personal secretary to Grace Littlefield. Although we tried at the time of Littlefield's death locate Celeste, we were never able to find her."
"Crawley claims this George woman stole one thousand dollars from her employer." Eyeing Jerry Cory added, "a thousand dollars could very well be motive enough for a murder."
"Damn right it could," Jerry Poteet agreed.
"I'm puzzled about something," Britt remarked. "What does this have to do with Porterville? What would bring Crawley to Porterville, and why would he be leaving in such a hurry that he ran my mother down? She was very lucky."
Jerry Poteet was the one to answer his question. "Off the top of my head, I would have to think that something or someone in Porterville caught Crawley's attention. That's could be why the man was in your hometown."
Adding to the conversation, Cory said, "I think there is a possibility that Crawly went to someone in Porterville and perhaps tried to blackmail them. After all, if he could trade silence for money, why wouldn't he?"
"Holy shit. You're saying that if Littlefield was murdered the murderer could be somewhere in or around Porterville?" Britt could hardly comprehend what he was saying.
"Most likely," Jerry spoke up.
Cory added, "And possibly still is. Unless Crawley's visit spooked them, and they left town."
Britt thought of another thing. "Then it's also possible that Crawley was the second victim."
"A blackmail gone wrong, you think?" Cory asked.
"A very good possibility," Jerry agreed.
"So what do we do now?" Britt asked.
"We're going to look around this apartment, and whether we find anything else or not, I'm going to stop by the department. Jerry, I'm going to take you with me. I think my supervisor needs to know, not only about this, but if you're willing, I'd like for you to work with me."
Grinning, Jerry asked, "How much does the job pay?"
Cory shook his head. "You know how the wheels turns as well as I do."
"Volunteer?"
"I'm sure. Look at it this way. You were never satisfied how this case turned out. This will give you a chance to find peace."
"I would have to go to Porterville," Jerry pointed out.
"You would. Hey, look at it this way. This will give you a little time to get to know your new daughter-in-law."
"I wouldn't stay with them," Jerry said. "They're newly married. They wouldn't want me around. No, I'll get a room in one of the motels."
"You'll do no such thing," Britt said. "We have plenty of room. Even with Mom staying with us a few days, we still have an extra bedroom or two. No, you will definitely stay with Devon and me."
Half an hour later the three men had turned nothing new up. They locked the apartment up and returned to the office.
"We're keeping the key to the apartment," Cory told the manager. "Jacob Crawley has died, and it could possibly be murder. No one is to go into two fourteen until you get clearance from our police station. Someone will be coming out and marking it. Until then, make sure no one goes near it."
The clerk, a surprised look on his face, assured the detective no one would enter Crawley's apartment.
They left the apartment office and walked to their vehicles. Cory and Britt were going to follow behind Jerry's truck.
Ten minutes later they parked side by side in the parking lot of North Little Rock Police department.
As they made their way up the steps to the door, Cory said, "I hate to ask, but Britt, would you mind waiting in the lobby? I'm very happy to have you working with me, but I think it's best if Jerry and I see my boss without you. Once we're back in Porterville, I can promise that I'll work your ass off."
Britt assured the detective he understood, and once inside the lobby, he found a seat and took his phone out of his pocket. As the two men disappeared, Britt punched in Devon's cell number.
"Hey there," he greeted Devon.
"Hi, Babe. How's it going?"
"I won't go into details here, but when I see you, I'll fill you in. I will say this. There's a good chance that Jacob Crawley's death may be connected to another death thirty years ago. Here in Little Rock," he added.
"I see. I'm anxious to hear what you've found out. Are you and Cory going to make it back home tonight?"
Britt looked at the screen on his phone. It was a four o'clock.
"I would think so," he said. "Jerry and Cory are in talking with someone in the police department now. I don't see any reason why we should not be home. I'll call just as soon as I know what's going on."
Britt had another thought. "Oh, most likely Brian's dad is coming back with us. Since Crawley's death may have a connection with the murder in Little Rock all those years ago, Cory has asked Jerry if he'd like to come to Porterville. Which brings me to my original thought. Jerry didn't want to stay with Alice and Brian. He wanted to get a room at one of the motels in Porterville. I told him he could stay with us during his stay. I hope that was okay."
"Don't be ridiculous. Don't ever feel you need to ask my permission. Our home is just that; our home."
Britt had finished his telephone conversation with Devon for half an hour when Cory and Jerry returned.
"I was beginning to think I was going to have to spend the night here in this chair," Britt greeted with a grin.
"We can leave," Cory told him.
Outside the building Britt asked Jerry is he still planned on returning to Porterville with them.
"I do," Jerry answered. "I think my plan is to drop by my house and pack a bag. You and Cory can head on out. I should be there shortly after you guys."
"I've already talked with Devon. You definitely have a reservation at our hotel. The stay is open ended, meaning you can stay with us as long as you need to. We won't rent your room out to anyone else."
Jerry gave Britt a pat on his shoulder. "That's good to hear. I appreciate that. See you in Porterville."
When Cory pulled out of the parking lot onto the street, he said, "Okay, it's like this, Britt. I decided to be up front with my supervisor. I didn't want either of us to get into trouble if you were found to be working on this case. My boss only requested two things. I'm not to let you get into any kind of situation that could be dangerous to you. He also wanted me to remind you that you're going to be privy to information that is confidential. He wanted to know he could trust you."
Britt looked across the seat and said, "Cory, I think you know the answer to that. In all of the work I've done for Brian, I have never discussed anything to anyone. Other than perhaps Devon."
"I know that, Jerry and I both spoke up for you. Jerry even told him to call Brian if he still had any doubt about you assisting me."
"I appreciate that," Britt said. It gave him a good feeling knowing they had confidence in him.
"As for Devon," Cory said coming to a street light, "I trust you completely. I expect you to keep your partner apprised on the situation. I also feel I can trust Devon as well."
Cory soon came to the Interstate entrance. He turned onto the ramp and merged into the afternoon traffic. Once he was settled in his lane, he said,
"Enough about trust. I have no doubt about anyone working this case. Enough said for now. Did you let Devon know we're heading home?"
"I told him earlier we probably would be. I'll give him a call now and let him know for certain."
Britt made his call and then settled back in the car seat. Even though Cory had told him not to think any more about the case for now, Britt couldn't keep the thoughts from running around in his head. He spent the next three hours running one possibility after another across his brain.
Britt was excited about the Crawley case. His excitement, however, was laced with guilt. The guilt hit him because of his mother. Catherine loved him so much. Britt felt guilty because his involvement was going to cause her to worry.
"Why so quiet?" Cory asked.
"Just entertaining thoughts in my head."
Cory laughed. "Give your brain a rest. Enjoy this time. After all, tomorrow may hit with a bang."
Britt shook his head and said, "Who ever said living in a small town was quiet and uneventful?"
Chapter Thirteen
Britt, Cory and Jerry met with Brian the next morning. The police chief had the documents from Little Rock on his desk. They sat silently in their chairs as Brian read the file.
A short time later Brian said, "Definitely seems to be a connection between Crawley's death and the Littlefield woman's, doesn't it?"
"I don't think there's any doubt," Cory said.
From across his desk, Brian said, "Looks like you're going to be in your element, Britt."
At first the Chief had a grin on his face. Then it was replaced with a solemn look.
"However, whatever you do, please do not do anything that will send your mom's wrath down upon me. I like the way she treats me like a family member."
Brian's dad said, "That was one of the things we had to promise. We're to make sure that Britt doesn't get into any danger."
Brian shook his head and said, "Good luck with that."
"We'll do our best," Cory added. "I'm grateful to have him working with me. With them both," he said looking at Jerry Poteet.
Glancing back down at the file, Brian said, "I see you have a sketch of what this Celeste George must have looked like." He picked up the drawing and studied it closely.
"And that's pretty much a blind sketch," Jerry pointed out. "I remember at the time we investigated the woman's death, we were told that the George woman had left the same day as her employer's death. A thorough search turned nothing up that proved the old woman had employed a secretary. No pictures, nothing. According to Martha Bennett, the housekeeper, all of the employees were paid in cash. Not exactly sure why, but that was the case."
"Who provided the sketch? The housekeeper perhaps?" Brian placed the drawing back in the file.
"I believe so," his dad answered.
"So what are your plans?" Brian asked addressing Cory.
"I'm going to make some copies of the sketch for starters," Cory answered. "I think I'll give Britt and your dad each a copy. We'll go around town asking people if they recognize the woman. It's a long stretch, but there had to be a reason why Crawley was here in Porterville."
"Sounds like a good plan. Keep me in the loop. And Britt, make sure your ass is covered. Like I said earlier, I do not want to have your mother on my case."
"I promise to be careful, Bro," Britt said assured the chief.
The three men stood to their feet and headed for the door. Cory was going to make his copies and the three were starting their investigation. As Britt was leaving the office, Brian's voice caused him to stop in the doorway.
"What the hell is this?"
Britt turned around and saw that Brian was holding something that looked like a cutting from a newspaper in his hand.
"What is it?" Britt asked.
Britt returned to the room followed by Cory and Jerry.
"Did you guys see this?" Brian handed the clipping to Britt.
"It's a wide shot picture of your wedding reception," Britt declared.
"Let me see that," Jerry said.
When Britt handed the man the clipping, Jerry said, "This is one of the pictures I had published in the newspaper."
Cory took the cutting, and after looking at it closely, he said, "I think this is the break we need. There has to be someone in this picture that struck Crawley's interest."
"I take it we're going to start questioning everyone in the picture," Britt remarked.
"Well, you can start with me," Brian spoke up. "If this sketch is anything at all like the woman you're looking for, I don't recognize her. You can cross me off the list. I'm pretty sure about Alice as well, but you can show it to her."
Cory not only made copies of the police artist's sketch but also the picture taken at Alice and Brian's wedding reception. As they were leaving the building, he gave Jerry and Britt a copy of each.
"How do you want to divide this up?" Britt asked.
"Why don't you start with Alice and your mother?" Cory suggested. "Also your partner," he added.
"I'm on it," Britt said heading for his car.