Chapter 45
The Pekin sheriff was waiting for them as their plane taxied on the runway. O’Reilly looked out the window and breathed deeply. They had called ahead to apprise the local officials of their investigation and they seemed more than willing to cooperate. At least, on the phone they seemed alright with the situation.
"Sergeant, let’s hope that this officer is a little more congenial than Higgins was. I don’t want to have to go through that kind of shit again. If he turns out to be another asshole, I think I’ll just shoot the bastard right off the bat and be done with it.”
"Yes sir, inspector. Just pull out your magnum 44 and put one right between his eyes. Teach him and all the locals to respect you.” Miller said as a smile came across his face.
"Yup, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll put the gun to his head and blow his brains all over your nice clean suit.” O’Reilly said menacingly and then both he and the Sergeant broke out laughing. “I couldn’t do that. Your suit is already dirty. No sense in shooting a hole in him if its just going to add to the mess your suit is already in. Who would notice? Can’t put the fear of god into anyone if someone’s brains are displayed on a dirty suit. Gotta be clean for the proper effect.”
At this, they both started laughing until their sides started to hurt. “At least, inspector, we can still maintain our senses of humor at times like this.” Miller stated as he started to contain himself.
"Yes sergeant, we still have our humor to get us through.” Just then, the door opened and the pilot came back and told them that they had arrived fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.
"Thank you, captain. The trip was quite relaxing. Just what the doctor ordered, so to speak. It gave us time to collect our thoughts and think about what we are going to do next.”
"My pleasure, sir. I can stay for a few hours before I have to fly back. If you are done here before then, you can hitch a ride if you want.” The three of them shook hands and then Miller and O’Reilly disembarked and headed for their escort. As they neared the police car, they were approached by the sheriff and his deputy.
"Good afternoon gentlemen. I’m Sheriff Turner of the Pekin Police department and this is my deputy, Bill Bradley.”
O’Reilly shook hands with the two men and Miller did the same. After they introduced themselves, they got into the car and drove from the airport in Peoria to the Pekin police station. As they got out, O’Reilly looked up and down the street. It seemed just like every other small town that he had known. No one ever caused problems except the local kids on a Saturday night, but for the most part, it appeared quite pleasant.
They entered Turner’s office and sat down around a large desk that looked like it was made from teak or another exotic wood. Sean couldn’t tell, but it was highly polished with just a hint of lemon. The office was paneled with a rich looking wood, which gave it a warm inviting feel to it.
The chairs that they were sitting on were made from a rust colored leather. Sean looked around appreciatively, but also wondered how a small town sheriff could afford such luxuries on his salary. Maybe this Turner wasn’t as clean as he liked to portray himself.
The sheriff noticed O’Reilly admiring his office and seemed to be reading his thoughts. “Inspector, I see you have good taste. This is my sanctuary. I can come in here and unwind when things get too hectic. I couldn’t afford something as extravagant as this on my salary as you must be aware.
"There was a mansion owned by a recluse a few years back. I had helped him with a few problems over time and to show his appreciation, he stated in his will that his study should be dismantled and the paneling put up in my office. The desk and chairs were an added bonus.
"It almost seems too much for a small town sheriff such as myself, but the gentleman knew that I enjoyed sitting in his study, and so he made it possible for me to enjoy it long after his death.” A contented look came over his face as he fell silent for a moment.
O’Reilly felt ashamed at suspecting Turner being dirty but said nothing. He sat there for a moment and was just about to talk about the pressing matter at hand when there was a knock at the door.
"Enter” Turner spoke. The door opened noiselessly and an elderly woman came in with a tray of coffee and tea. She set it down and turned to leave.
"Thank you Mrs. Duncan. Efficient as always. That will be all.”
"Yes sir. If you need anything else, just call.”
"I will. Thanks again.” At that Mrs. Duncan turned and slowly walked out and shut the door behind her.
"Mrs. Duncan. She’s such a kind old soul. I don’t have the heart to let her go. She’s been around for ever as far as I can remember. She gets coffee and does some cleaning around here. I think she feels like I’m the son she never had.” Turner reflected and then sat silent once again.
After a bit O’Reilly spoke. “Sheriff, we called you because one of your former residents is suspect in an ongoing investigation. He was only a child at the time when he lived here, but we need to talk to his adoptive mother to see if she might know where we could find him.”
"What’s his name?"
"His name is Caulder, Jake Caulder and he was adopted by a Mrs. Keller. We need to speak to her to find out if she has heard from him lately. He is the prime suspect in recent murders and we have got to get to him as quickly as possible as you can well imagine. He would have resided here about ten to twelve years ago.”
The sheriff looked shocked. “Inspector, you won’t be able to talk with Mrs. Keller. About thirteen years ago, she was found murdered with her head caved in. When the authorities got there, they found Jake sitting there covered in her blood. The case is still unsolved. It was assumed that a vagrant killed her and then left. We figured that Jake found the body after she had been killed.
"Mrs. Keller’s cat was also found dead in the same room. We didn’t even know that Jake was adopted.”
O’Reilly and Miller exchanged glances and then Sean continued. “Sheriff, this is very disturbing news, very disturbing indeed. About fifteen years ago Jake was found with his dead mother, Mrs. Caulder. It was also assumed that a drifter had killed her and that Jake found her after the fact. Sounds like too much of a coincidence to me and I don’t believe in coincidences.
"At the time of the murder, dead cats were turning up in the neighborhood. Even Mrs. Keller’s cat had been killed. And now you tell us that another of her cats was killed violently and Jake was near it when it was found. When the two of them moved, the killing of animals stopped. It has to have been Jake doing the crimes, and I would bet my last dollar on it that he is the one responsible for the recent murders as well.”
"It certainly sounds like he is the one you are looking for. What has happened recently to make him a suspect and bring him to your attention?”
"A few days ago he was fired from his job and then hours later his boss, who fired him, was found murdered with his head severely beaten. A couple of days later a trucker who ate at a diner that Jake was at was found in a similar condition. God only knows how much more destruction and mayhem he has caused.”
Sheriff Turner sat there for a moment and then stood. Sean and Miller stood as well. “Inspector, I think I have given you all the information that I know. If anything else turns up, I’ll call you right away.”
"That would be great if you could. You’ve been a lot of help. Here’s my card if you can think of anything else that might help in the case.” He handed the sheriff his card.
"I’ll have my deputy drive you back to the air port.”
"Thanks, that would be appreciated.”
He walked them to the door. “Let me know how the investigation is progressing when you get a chance. It would be good to tie up loose ends on the Keller case.”
"I will and thanks again. Thank Mrs. Duncan for her hospitality. She’s a real sweet heart.”
"She’ll be glad to hear that. She tries to make people feel at home. Have a safe trip inspector. Talk to you soon.”
They stepped out into the afternoon glare and the sheriff shut the door behind them. "Looks like that’s all the proof we need boss." Miller reflected.
"The evidence seems to be pretty solid. Let’s get going and when we get air borne we’ll give Officer Cooper a call to see if anything constructive has come from the APB that we had him put out.”
"Sounds good.” They got into the car and the deputy sped as fast as he could to get them on their way.
When they were on the plane, Sean called out to the pilot. “Captain Smith, if you can shave fifteen minutes off of our trip time here on the way back, there’ll be a bottle of scotch in it for you.”
"No problem inspector. We’ve got a tail wind all the way back. I don’t need the scotch, thanks. Just glad to help you get your job done.”
"We’ll see.” Sean said. He put his feet up, and started to relax almost at once. Again, his thoughts drifted to Cindy Stevens. He would definitely have to take her out when this was all settled. A smile came over his face and he drifted asleep, grabbing what peace he could before the chase began again.
Sean had only been asleep for a few moments when Miller awoke him. He had placed a call to Cooper to check on the APB. “Boss, I just got off the phone with Coop. He said that Caulder’s car was found abandoned on a country road an hour north of Lexington, Kentucky near Williamstown, off the I75. About a mile up the road, there is an old shack owned by a moon shiner named Taylor and his two sons. The local cops went to see if they had seen our suspect or knew of his where abouts. Coop said that it looks like a war zone.
"He didn’t go into too much detail but he said that it looks like our boy Caulder was there not too long ago. All three of the Taylors are dead, two of them with bashed in skulls and the third dead from what looks like some kind of bite to the throat. There’s more but he said we better get over there as quick as possible.”
O’Reilly sat up. It looked like the trail which a few minutes ago appeared to be getting cold, had started to heat up again. All thoughts of Cindy had faded from his mind as he started thinking about what awaited them when they got to the Taylor homestead.
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