The Joy of Revenge

Chapter 129

CHAPTER 129 Suicide Note
The Sheriff
It was almost six in the morning when I got the call from Bismarck Police. It was a phone call I wasn’t expecting.
“Sheriff Nathan Combs, I’m Detective Carl Matthews of the Bismarck Police Department. I’d like to apologize for the hour, but there seems to be a series of untoward incidences that seem
to be linked to the small town of New Salem. The most recent being a shootout at the Huff
Hills mansion which intel says is owned by CMD Enterprises. I called the number listed. down and it was answered by a man who claims he’s the attorney of the CEO of the company, a woman named Cynthia McDowell, who happens to reside at Highland Oaks, New Salem. I was hoping you could get in touch with her and tell her to drop by the precinct. There are a few questions I need to ask her,” the man said.
“That’s not possible, Detective Matthews,” I replied, scratching my head, “Cynthia McDowell passed away last Sunday around midnight.” I heard his sharp intake of breath.
“That’s, uh, that’s unfortunate. Is there anyone else I could talk to? Her husband, a brother or
sister, maybe her son or daughter?”
“Her son is out of the country on vacation,” I told him. “No one knows when he’ll be back.
Her husband has been dead for years and from what I know of her, she doesn’t have any brothers or sisters. I’m sorry if I can’t be of much help to yo
you.”
“No, no… you’re helping me just fine, Sheriff,” he said.
“If there aren’t any more questions, Detective, I have work to do,” I said, hoping that was it. Apparently, there was more.
“Hold on, Sheriff… Before you hang up, I also called to inform you that we found a car at Elk Cliff, abandoned, registered to a Cris Murdock who I understand is a councilman of your town. We didn’t find anything inside except for a pair of shoes and a set of clothing in the trunk. Dashcam is missing and it seems the car’s exterior and interior have been wiped. clean. The people from our crime lab can’t find one single print. Engine’s cold… so we figure the car has been here all night. I have my men looking through the CCTV footage near the area and unfortunately, we haven’t found anything yet. Has anyone reported him missing?”
“No, not that I’m aware of,” I answered. “I’ve been preoccupied with the investigation on the circumstances of the death of our former mayor as well as an ongoing investigation on the /6
CHAPTER 129 Suicide Note
murders of several others, assets of mine who was helping us bust a drug syndicate. We believe a Marla Lawrence together with a group of unknown assailants murdered our assets.”
gman
“Marla Lawrence… the name Marla was mentioned by a man we found injured at the diner several days ago,” he said, pausing to go through his little notepad. “Here it is, a young named Riley Harris. He was struck by a vehicle and is currently in the hospital, unconscious.” I closed my eyes, trying not to panic.
This was bad.
If Riley ever wakes up, there was a big chance he’d talk, putting everyone in jeopardy.
“I wasn’t informed Riley Harris figured into an accident there. I’ll call his grandmother and
have him transferred here-”
“Sorry to interrupt, but it wasn’t merely an accident, Sheriff. Currently, he is under the custody of the Bismarck Police. We’re hoping when he wakes up, he’ll be able to help us with our investigation,” the detective said, starting to sound suspicious. “I called your office a couple of days ago and informed one of your deputies, a Deputy Randall Evans, about the incident. I was under the impression he notified you of the situation. Anyway, if it isn’t any trouble, I’d appreciate it if you could come by our police station. Any time is fine.”
“I’ll see, Detective. I’m really busy. Maybe I can send someone else to answer all your
questions,” I replied, angry at Randy for not informing me about Riley. He was obviously sor

at me since I refused to give him more money.
“Sure, Sheriff. That’ll be fine too. By the way, if you get in touch with Councilman Cris Murdock, tell him to come by the station so he can pick up his car,” the detective said.
“Thank you, Sheriff, and good day.”
This was just fantastic.
Riley Harris and Cris Murdock’s car were in Bismarck Police custody and to top it all off, they needed someone from New Salem’s Sheriff Station to help with their investigation.
I dialed Cris’ number and it went straight to voicemail. I debated whether I should call Lisa.
It was too early and I didn’t want to alarm her if Cris was indeed missing.
There was only one person I could trust to handle the situation.
Jack.
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CHAPTER 129 Suicide Note
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“I got some bad news. I just got a call from Bismarck Police. They found Cris Murdock’s car abandoned near the side of Elk Cliff,” I said after he answered. He uttered a curse. “Do you know anything about this?”
“Lisa came by the station around four this morning to file a missing person’s report,” Jack answered. It was my turn to utter a curse. Cris is missing!
“Well, I need you to head down to Bismarck and while you’re at it, inform Lisa,” I instructed.
“And ask Randy why in the hell didn’t he tell me Riley Harris is in a hospital in Bismarck.”
“Riley’s in the hospital? I spoke to his grandmother the other day and she said she didn’t know where he was,” he said, sounding frustrated. “Sheriff, if Riley talks, we’re all going to go
to jail.”
“I know. I’ll send someone to take care of him. In the meantime, I need you to put on a show and speak to Detective Matthews at the Bismarck Police Station.”
Sure. I just
need to finish my breakfast and head back to the station first. After I finish with
the Martins and their new attorney, I’ll call Lisa and have her come with me to Bismarck.”
“Who is this new attorney?”
“Lincoln Murphy, the one who sprung Bo out after the Cynthia McDowell fiasco,” he
explained.
V
“I know him,” I said. “Take your time. The detectives at Bismarck said they’re in the wake of our investigation on the death of Theodore Cohen. Maybe I’ll se station after we get this barn set up. We can’t be seen here at sunrise which is h
less than an hour. I’ll contact Bismarck Police and tell them to expect you. And, of
forget, call the district attorney so the both of you can meet this Lincoln Murphy-”
I paused, noticing one of my deputies running towards me with his phone in his hand. “Sheriff, I just got a call from St. Elizabeth’s. Seems there’s a dead body in their parking
Female.”
it
G od da mn it! This sh it isn’t going to end.
“Jack, you head on back to the station and wait for the Martins’ attorney and the DA. I gotta shuffle it back to St. Elizabeth’s. There’s a dead body in their parking lot,” I said, informing him of our new case.
“Who is it this time?” Jack usked shocked.
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CHAPTER 129 Suicide Note
“I don’t know, but they say it’s female,” I answered. “It’s going to be another long day. I was hoping to go home and take a shower. Seems I’m not going to.” I sighed and ran my fingers through my oily hair. “Call me if you have trouble keeping Ford Martin in lock up. I don’t want that as shole out.”
“Will do, Sheriff,” Jack said and hung up.
“Men, that’ll do,” I said, surveying the chairs and tables in the barn. I pointed at my deputies. “You two, take the crates back to Cohen Mansion and you three, you guys are with me.”
“Sheriff, what do you need us to do after we’ve unloaded the crates?” A deputy assigned to the crates asked.
“I need you to give this to the judge,” I said, handing him an envelope full of money. “Liam. doesn’t want Ford to make bail and sk ip town. Tell the judge, if he wants more, he knows who to call.”
By the time we reached the hospital, the sun was up. Several of my men from the station had cordoned the area off from the public and were trying to subdue the media.
I saw the medical examiner crouching down beside a woman’s body. Her salt and pepper hair was twisted in a bun and she was wearing white coveralls with ‘Medical Examiner’ printed on
the back. She was a woman in her early fifties with light green eyes and soft features, something her daughter, Sarah Hughes, didn’t inherit from her.
I looked down at the dead body lying on the ground and recognized the face
Administrator Lindsay Hartman.
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