Read Cactus Island, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 8 Page 16

CHAPTER16

  SETTING BOND

  Our bondsman Roger Rand met me at the foot of the stairs to the Dallas City Jail. He apologized again for having to limit the bond to one hundred thousand dollars. I told him he'd probably go home empty handed. I couldn't see Judge Richard Abbott letting Cheryl out for less than a quarter million. The judge shocked me, however.

  "Well, since you don't have a body, Mr. Wilkerson, I'm reluctant to impose a large bond on Mrs. Windsor. Frankly, I'm surprised you've gone for an indictment this early. If I'm reading your pleadings correctly, it's been less than a month since Mr. Windsor disappeared."

  "Yes, Your Honor," Wilkerson protested. "But we have a gun fired by the defendant on the day Mr. Windsor disappeared, and witnesses who will verify the defendant was the last person to see Mr. Windsor."

  The judge leaned toward Wilkerson, his eyes narrowed. "Still, no body, right? And you want me to conjecture that this petite young lady was able to make a body disappear without a trace? How did she do that without her nosy neighbors seeing it?"

  Wilkerson folded his arms and glared back at the judge. The two stared at each other for a moment and then the judge leaned back. "I'm setting bond at $50,000."

  "Thank you, Your Honor," I said as I smiled gleefully at Wilkerson.

  Wilkerson threw his file in his briefcase and stormed off. I congratulated Cheryl and told her we'd have her out of jail within the hour. She thanked me and then was led away by the bailiff. After she was out of sight, Roger and I left the courtroom and headed for the intake desk at the county jail to post Cheryl's bond. It was just a waiting game after that. The employees at the jail seemed to work in slow motion. There was no sense of urgency in their movement whatsoever. Two hours later I spotted Cheryl being led to the release desk. They handed her a bag with her personal belongings, made her sign a receipt, and then finally led her to a glass door. A buzzer sounded and the door opened.

  I embraced Cheryl. "Sorry you had to go through that," I said.

  "It's okay. Nobody bothered me," she replied. "Thanks for getting me out so quickly."

  "Are you hungry? We can stop and get something to eat."

  "No thanks," she said. "I just want to pick up the kids, go back to my apartment and take a bath. I feel dirty after being in that cell with all those drunks and homeless bitches."

  I could sympathize. The Dallas City Jail was pretty old and dirty. The guests there were not the kind of people you wanted to hang around with either. I took Cheryl to get her kids and then took her home. On the way I told her about Jodie's trip to Tobago."

  "That's a beautiful resort. Jodie will have a great time there."

  "I hope she sees your husband."

  "Me too. Wouldn't that piss off Wilkerson?"

  "Yeah, he doesn't like you much."

  "The feeling is mutual, believe me."

  When I got back to the office, I got a call from Jodie. "This is a great place. You can send me here anytime," she said.

  "So, have you seen our man?"

  "No, a lot of people were expecting him, but they claim he never made it here."

  "How did you find that out without telling them who you were?"

  "I got chummy with one of the bartenders who knows everything that goes on here. He's cute too."

  "Hmm. Be careful, Jodie."

  "Oh, don't worry. I'm a big girl."

  "Do they know about Martin's disappearance?"

  "I don't think so. Jeff, the bartender, didn't mention it. He seems to expect Martin to show up at any time."

  "Well. Did Jeff tell you why the manager quit?"

  "No, that subject was a little too sensitive for the bartender. I'm not sure why, but I did find out from other sources that the manager didn't quit, he just didn't show up for work one day. The delay in replacing him seems to be due to the uncertainty as to what happened to him."

  "Another missing person. That's very interesting. I wonder if there is a connection between the two men."

  "I don't know."

  "What was the manager's name?"

  "Rubin Quinlin."

  "Well, find out as much as you can about Mr. Quinlin. I'll call the local authorities there and see how the investigation is going. If we can show a connection between the two missing men that would be huge."

  "Okay, I'll see you in a few days."

  "Yeah, and don't forget this is an assignment. Don't come back with a great tan."

  Jodie laughed. "Ah, you're a mean boss."

  "Bye, Jodie. Be careful."

  "I will. Piece of cake. Don't worry."

  Don't worry. Right. That's all I seemed to be doing lately. Worrying about Jodie. Worrying about Cheryl. Worrying about Turner and Waters becoming the laughingstock of the legal community. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. The only thing that kept me from falling into a deep depression was the fact that the judge didn't seem to like Wilkerson's case very much. That was a sweet tune. I played back Wilkerson's annoyance with the judge's decision on the bond. I'd treasure the look of utter frustration on his face and his dramatic exit from the courtroom. That was a priceless memory that would help me through the tough days that I knew lay ahead. Several days later Jodie returned from Tobago. She hadn't seen Martin Windsor but she'd managed to acquire some valuable information that was bound to help us eventually locate him. I just hoped it wouldn't be too late.