CHAPTER 8 – MONDAY EVENING
As Bennie drove away in his van, Kelly lingered, sitting in his car behind the book store. He called Haugen. There was no answer at his desk or cell. Kelly left a brief message about discovering Naughton's country place and seeing the live animal crate.
Kelly then called Ted, finding him home.
"I've got a pretty interesting outing with Bennie to tell you about."
"If you come now, sneak in the back way. There's a news crew outside -- from one of those true-crime shows."
"Great."
"They're eager to talk with you. At the moment, I think they're interviewing Jerry."
"That should be good. If he gets on TV, he'll talk about that forever."
Ted chuckled. "They've gone door-to-door, looking for people to interview."
"Guess I'll stay away for a while. Care to go for a burger?"
"Sure. Meet you at Ralph's? Give me thirty minutes."
Kelly next called Jessica. She agreed to join them. Ralph's Corner, a bar on the Minnesota side of the river in Moorhead, wasn't the original Ralph's, which was torn down some years before. Instead, a new incarnation of the old classic had opened. The new building came with higher overhead. Several businesses had already failed there, but the new Ralph's appeared to have a chance. Even though the prices for beer and food ran higher than the old dive, the place had immediately found appreciative fans, including Ted, who had shared with Kelly a number of stories of the old place during their visits to the new.
They settled at a table, Jessica and Kelly on the built-in bench along the wall, Ted in a chair across from them. A poster-sized print of the old "Ralph's Corner" sign hung on the wall nearby.
"They did a good job on the layout in here," said Ted. "It's an homage to the original. Cleaner and brighter than the old place, but the layout is just about spot-on."
After placing their food orders, Kelly recounted his adventure with Bennie and described the farmstead.
"Way to go, Mr. Holmes," said Jessica. "Maybe you and Watson just broke the case open."
Kelly laughed. "I doubt it, but I hope the police will at least check it out."
"It would be interesting to learn what they're doing with live animals," said Ted.
"Animals would explain the farm location," said Kelly. "Animals in-town might be noisy, and likely a zoning violation."
"Any guess what kind of animals?" asked Jessica.
"Not really. The crates were maybe two feet tall, but they could be subdivided. Rats, chickens, rabbits. Maybe even monkeys."
Their cheeseburgers arrived, along with refills of Kelly's coffee, Ted's wine and Jessica's beer.
"Tell us about the cable crew that's looking for me," said Kelly, between bites.
Jessica perked up, hearing about it for the first time.
"They were gone by the time I left to come over here," said Ted. "I'm guessing they'll be in town for a while. It's that show American Crime." He recounted how a producer had come to his door. "I declined to speak with them, but they hung around for a couple of hours, gathering video of the building and the neighborhood. I assume they got some neighbors to talk."
"That doesn't seem fair," said Jessica. "It's not right that they'd do a story about Kelly."
"They might not be," said Ted. "It's very possible that they're getting the footage and the interviews as a precaution, just in case Kelly did turn out to be part of the story. Shows like this shoot way more footage than they ever use."
"I hope you're right," said Kelly.
"Better call your mom," said Jessica. "They'll probably try to talk to her."
"Crap. You're right." Kelly wiped the burger grease off his hands and dug out his phone. His mom picked up on the second ring.
"They've already come and gone," she reported matter-of-factly. "I didn't go on camera for them, but I made it pretty damn clear they were barking up the wrong tree. I got the feeling they'd already reached the same conclusion, but they said they'd still like to talk to you -- you finding the bodies and everything."
"Okay, thanks. I've got more to tell you, but I'm at Ralph's with Ted and Jessica. See you tomorrow maybe?"
Kelly shared his mom's news with Ted and Jessica. After eating, they lingered over another round of drinks as they imagined various possibilities about the farmstead and the connection to the murders.
"I'm curious what your janitor friend discovered to make him link the victims to Naughton," said Ted. "And I wonder who's paying him to dig up that info?"
"Paying him?" asked Jessica, surprised.
Kelly winced.
"Oops," said Ted. "Did I spill the beans?"
"My fault," Kelly told him. "I should have warned you." He turned to Jessica. "I didn't tell you because I was afraid it would put you in a bad spot."
"Didn't tell me what?"
"It's a theory about Bennie. He seems to know something about Kupmeier and Barry that connects to Doc Naughton. He's also very interested in finding out what Naughton is up to, and Ted figured it might involve corporate spying."
"Bennie? Are you kidding? Bennie? Really?"
"Janitors can make very effective spies," said Ted.
"I didn't want to say anything," said Kelly, "since I figured you'd feel a professional obligation to report him, even though you might not want to."
"I'll be damned," said Jessica. "Bennie a spy. What evidence do you have?"
"Nothing, really."
"Good. Then I've got no conflict ... just some wild imagining by a murder suspect and his neighbor."
Kelly rolled his eyes.
"Besides," she continued, "all the things you've told me about the pharmaceutical business don't leave me too inclined to rat out somebody like Bennie. Who do you suppose he's working for?"
"Another pharmaceutical company seems most likely," said Ted, "maybe even the company that's trying to buy the place. But it could also be a stock trader, investor, or even an investigative reporter."
Their speculations continued for some time, but they eventually called it a night. Ted had walked for the exercise. He said goodnight and headed back across the bridge. Kelly walked Jessica to her car, where they kissed, his hands on her hips, her arms on his shoulders. "Care to stop by for a while?" he asked, smiling. "It's on your way home."
"Sure."
Jessica followed Kelly to his apartment. With no sign of any members of the media, he parked in his usual spot, with Jessica pulling in beside him. They walked slowly from their cars, holding hands, enjoying the warm summer night and the excitement of a new love. Once inside the apartment, they wasted no time, finding their way to the bedroom where he undressed her as they kissed. He lowered her to the bed where he, too, shed his clothes. Kelly's cell rang, but it went unanswered.
Afterwards, they talked quietly, hiding beneath a sheet, expressing their affection, nose-to-nose, smiling and often laughing. Eventually, Kelly responded to the reminder chirp that told him voicemail awaited. He reached for his pants to retrieve his phone.
"Haugen," he reported, upon seeing the caller ID. Jessica listened as he played Haugen's message that thanked Kelly for the tip and asked him to call.
Jessica nibbled at Kelly's ear as he was hitting the call button. "Hey!" He laughed. "I'm trying to call the police here."
She walked her fingers down his stomach, lower and lower, as Haugen came on the line. Kelly grabbed her hand. She giggled.
"So where's this farm?" asked Haugen, without so much as a word of greeting.
Kelly gave Haugen the farm's fire number as Jessica tormented him further, tickling his neck with her nose. As Kelly gave specific directions, she slipped out from under the sheets, gathered her clothes, and tiptoed for the bathroom.
"How did you find out about the place?" asked Haugen.
The question caught Kelly off guard. He'd gotten the tip from Bennie, but had agreed to keep Bennie's name out of it. "I got to wondering because there's been talk around the office that Naughton is often gone, but supposedly
still doing research, and you didn't find any signs of activity at his lab in town, so I wondered if maybe he had another place. Then I saw a truck at his building and decided to watch for a while. When they left, I followed them."
"Hmm."
Kelly couldn't tell if Haugen was impressed or suspicious.
"And this animal crate," said Haugen, "you saw it at this farm?"
"They loaded it at the old depot, brought it to the farm."
"And you think this might be connected to the murders."
"I don't know. Probably not. There's just that speculation of the victims being killed to keep them quiet. If it has something to do with Naughton, maybe it involves that farm."
"Okay," said Haugen. "Thanks for the lead, but following people is asking for trouble. I know you have ambitions, but playing private eye is a bad idea, especially under your circumstances."
"Got it."
"It could even foul up our investigation."
"Okay."
"One thing you could do is make sure to establish your whereabouts going forward. Hang with other people; make a phone call; use an ATM or credit card someplace. If there's another murder, I want you to have an alibi so I can tell detective Amundson to stop wasting his time on you."
"Good point. I'll do that. And thanks for believing me."
"I hope that's not a mistake."
"It's not."
As Kelly hung up, Jessica returned from the bathroom, fully dressed, purse in hand.
"Leaving?"
She sat beside him on the bed. "Yep. It's a school night."
"But Haugen says you need to stick around so I'll have an alibi in case somebody else gets knocked off."
"He does, does he?"
Kelly nodded with exaggerated sincerity.
"Sorry, but you're on your own. What else did he say?"
"He thanked me for the tip about the Naughton place, but I don't think he meant it. And he gave me some crap for following them out there."
"You didn't hurt anything. Maybe it will actually amount to something." She gave him a kiss, and then rose to leave.
Kelly pulled on his pants and slipped on a denim shirt to walk her out.
"I like your apartment," said Jessica, looking the place over. "It's got character."
"I'm fond of it," said Kelly. They began the long climb down the stairs. "Jerry, my landlord, keeps saying he could charge a lot more for it, now that urban apartments are all the rage."
The air outside had cooled, but the summer night remained beautiful. Kelly walked gingerly as they crossed the gravel to reach Jessica's car. "I should have put shoes on."
"Not terribly bright, are you?"
"Guess not."
"Need me to drive you back across the lot?"
"Naw, I can tough it out."
She smiled. "Good night."
They kissed a final time and Kelly watched her drive away. He stood a while in the moonlight, feeling oddly good about things, even though in some ways that made no sense whatsoever.