CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
IT WAS almost midnight when Duane Peterson escorted James Marshall into the small interview room. The room was sparse with a table, three chairs and painted cinder-block walls. A camera affixed to the ceiling recorded everything.
The small observation room next door was standing room only as everyone watched from behind the two-way mirror.
“Care to tell me why you’d be digging behind the firehouse at eleven o’clock at night,” Duane asked.
“No law against it,” Marshall responded huffily. He was angry. Annoyed that he’d been caught, resentful that they would suspect him of anything and infuriated that he was handcuffed, being questioned like a common criminal. “Where’s the Sheriff? I don’t have to answer to you.”
“You were trespassing,” Duane ignored the man’s outburst.
Marshall jumped up, his chair crashed against the wall behind him. “I don’t have to put up with this. Take these handcuffs off me or I’ll”
“Or you’ll what?” Sheriff Matthews entered the room with a box. “I’ll tell you what you’ll do.” He set the box on the floor, out of Marshall’s sight. “You will have a seat and answer our questions.” He relaxed in the chair next to Duane. “Continue, deputy.”
“Did you lose something?” Duane asked. “Do you always carry a shovel with you?”
“I thought I saw something when I walked by earlier today.” Marshall settled in his chair. “I wanted to check it out.”
“Why did you wait so late?”
“I was working late. Almost forgot,” he answered nervously. “Remembered when I left my office.”
“Why didn’t you say something to Trevor Graystone?”
“Why should I?” He grumbled. “He’s just the contractor.”
“That may be, but given that there have been so many problems with the firehouse project, if you saw something, you should have told him.”
“I’ll remember that next time,” Marshall said testily. “Now that I’ve explained why I was there, I’ll be going.”
“Do you know Mark Smith?” Duane asked before Marshall could stand.
“No.”
“He was seen leaving your office a few days before he was killed.”
“In that case, I may have done some taxes for him. I’ll have to check my records.”
“Or could he have done some work for you?”
“Where are you going with this? I told you I didn’t know the kid.”
“Have you ever been inside the firehouse after hours?” Duane moved on.
“No. Why would I? As far as I’m concerned, it’s unsafe. Should be demolished.”
“Like you told your nephew? Josh Stevens?”
Marshall looked anxiously at the mirror, then the camera on the wall. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Are you saying that you didn’t tell your nephew that the firehouse was due to be demolished?”
“I, I might have mentioned it,” Marshall answered nervously. “The Town Council discussed that at one time.”
“That was last year. Before Brina Hollingsworth, excuse me Brina O’Malley, expressed interest in refurbishing it. You spoke to your nephew a couple months ago. After the remodeling had started” Duane pushed harder.
“Look, my nephew may have overheard me talking to his father. Are you going to take a teenager’s word over mine?”
“Back to my original question,” Duane challenged, “Have you ever been inside the firehouse after hours?”
“I said no,” Marshall exclaimed in outrage.
Sheriff Matthews reached down and set the nail gun on the table. “Do you know what this is, Mr. Marshall?”
“I’m not into construction,” the CPA fidgeted.
“It’s a nail gun. And this,” he set the screwdriver beside it, “is a cordless screwdriver. Have you ever seen them before?”
Marshall clutched the side of the table, answered testily, “I told you, I’ve never seen them.”
“That’s funny,” the Sheriff continued, “we found these in your office. Can you tell us how they got there?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying we received an anonymous tip that these tools were seen in your office. We got a search warrant.” Sheriff Matthews explained. “Found these tucked away in a corner.”
“You can’t have found those in my office,” Marshall barked, “I’ve been there all day.”
The Sheriff smiled. “While you were trespassing at the firehouse we were examining your office. Didn’t take us long to find them.”
“Do you know Deborah Gilman?” Duane asked.
Marshall cast another look at the camera, then the door as if he considered making a quick escape. “Of course, I knew Deborah Gilman,” he snapped. “She lived with my brother and his wife. Why are you asking?” He demanded.
“We understand she complained about you.” Duane knew he was stretching the truth but suspected he knew why Deborah might have been uncomfortable around the old man.
“About what?” Marshall snapped. “The little tramp was always complaining.”
Brina, Ginny and Marcie gasped out loud. Trevor, Cliff and Rafe restrained Brad when he almost charged out of the room. Randi covered her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. Everyone immediately suspected the worst.
Duane glared at Marshall. “Why do you refer to her as a tramp?”
“Because she was always spreading her legs for anyone interested.”
“How would you know?” Duane asked.
“Because she baited me,” he blurted. “All but asked for it.”
“Asked for what?” Duane asked. “Are you saying you raped Deborah Gilman?”
“Of course not,” Marshall exclaimed. “It was consensual. But she’s gone. What difference would it make now?”
“We found her,” Duane stated.
“You couldn’t have - “
“Couldn’t have what?” Duane challenged.
“You couldn’t have found her. She’s dead.”
“That’s correct. We found her remains,” Duane answered.
“But, how do you know it’s her? It could be anyone.”
“It has been verified that the remains are those of Deborah Gilman. Why were you behind the firehouse?” Duane repeated. “Prepared to dig in the exact spot we found Deborah Gilman? Did you put her there?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course not,” the man exclaimed.
“Do you typically walk late at night?”
“I live two blocks over. I work late several nights a week so yes, I sometimes walk late at night.”
“Were you working late on Friday, December tenth, ten years ago?”
“How the hell would I know?”
“That’s the night Deborah Gilman disappeared. I understand the whole town looked for her. I talked to Sergeant Barlow. He was working security the night of the Holly Ball. The night Deborah disappeared. When she wasn’t found, he made detailed notes about the evening in case something should develop.”
Marshall was visibly shaking.
“Are you sure you didn’t see Deborah Gilman that night?”
“Okay. I might have seen her when I walked home that night.”
“Which is it? Did you or did you not see her?”
“I saw her. She was standing on the exit landing outside the Town Hall exit doors. She was drunk, started yelling at me. Came at me and fell down the concrete steps.”
“You’re saying she was drunk? Brina O’Malley was the last person to see her and she never said anything about Deborah being drunk.”
“And you believe her? For all you know, the two bitches might have been arguing and the O’Malley woman pushed Deborah down the steps.”
Rafe wrapped an arm around Brina’s shoulders when she moved towards the door.
“Which is it, Mr. Marshall? Did Deborah Gilman threaten you or did Brina O’Malley push her down the steps?”
“Okay. I may have gone up the steps to talk to her. But she tripped. And fell. I swear, she fell down the steps and I couldn’t wake her up.”
“Why didn’t you get help?”
“Because I knew they’d blame me. I left her at the bottom of the steps and ran home. Figured someone would find her.”
“That’s not what Sergeant Barlow says. He said he remembered coming out to do another patrol and saw you putting something in the trunk of your car. You drove away towards the firehouse. Shortly after that, Deborah went missing and everyone was searching for her.”
“The Sergeant is lying,” Marshall sputtered. “I was nowhere near the Town Hall.”
“Again, Mr. Marshall, your credibility is slipping. Deborah Gilman was killed from a blow to her head. Did you argue with her? Strike her? Then bury her at the firehouse?”
“I’m done talking to you. I want my lawyer,” Marshall all but shouted.
“I think that’s a good idea,” the Sheriff said. Looked at his deputy.
Duane Peterson stood and stepped around the table. “James Marshall, you are under arrest for the murder of Deborah Gilman.”
Everyone could have heard a pin drop in the observation room after Duane finished mirandizing the old man.
Brad collapsed against the wall behind him. “I don’t know what lawyer he’ll call. I’m the only one in town and I’ll do everything I can to prove his guilt.”
“I can’t believe he actually raped her,” Ginny sobbed. “Why didn’t she say anything?”
“He may have threatened her.” Brina said. “Told her no one would believe her.”
Marcie dropped into one of the chairs. “Do you think she fell or did he knock her down the steps?”
“Guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Trevor answered.
Everyone looked at Brad who hadn’t moved. They were all exhausted.
Duane came into the room. “The Sheriff’s overseeing things now. My suggestion is that all of you go home, get a good nights’ sleep. Thank you for your help with apprehending him quietly.” He looked at Brad. “I never knew her but I am sincerely sorry for your loss. Hopefully, you can now have some closure.”
Trevor’s alarm sounded but he shut it off, turned over and reached for Randi. She squeezed his hand when it rested against her breasts.
“What time is it?” She groaned.
“Six.”
“I need about four more hours sleep,” she moaned. “I also need to get to my father’s house, get the boys ready for school.”
After James Marshall’s confession and Duane’s suggestion that everyone go home and get a good night’s sleep, no one argued. All headed to their respective houses. Their own beds.
Since the boys were with her father, Randi didn’t hesitate when Trevor suggested she stay with him another night. The last she remembered, they had both collapsed on the bed. She was sure she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Today was another day and she needed to check on her friends. Last night had awakened so many memories, she was sure the grieving would start all over again.
When she started to pull the covers back, Trevor hugged her closer.
“I need to get the boys.”
“Another few minutes won’t hurt.” He tightened his hold. “Other than being tired, are you okay?”
“I think I’m better than my friends,” she sighed. “Today is going to be another long one. I want to do something to help ease the pain.”
“Time will be the best thing. Maybe Duane will call with more news. I’ll stop by there on my way to the job.”
Later that evening, everyone gathered at Spicer Meadows for a briefing. Duane reported that Marshall had finally confessed to murdering Deborah Gilman. He also admitted to raping Deborah when she was sixteen. “We could charge him with contributing to the delinquency of a minor but the murder charge will keep him in jail the rest of his life.”
“So much has happened the past few days, I’m hesitant to be excited,” Randi said the next evening. She stared out the window. They had just finished dinner and her father was with the boys in the backyard. Trevor sat at the table.
“You know,” she turned to look at Trevor, leaned against the counter, “they say things happen in threes. Tim is finally out of my life and the boys don’t seem to have suffered from his scare. We’ve solved the mystery at the firehouse and although it has revived old memories, I’m sure everyone will be back on track in the coming weeks. What could number three be? What else could possibly happen?”
“Well, we still have our contract to negotiate,” Trevor said. “I heard from Greenwillow and they liked our proposal. Now you and I need to negotiate our contract.”
“Contract?”
“Yeah. I stopped by Brad’s office. To check on him and to ask him to put something together for me.” He handed her two sheets of paper.
“Mighty short agreement for going into business together,” she said as she sat at the table.
“Read it and tell me what you think.”
“The name of the corporation shall be TAR, Inc.” she read out loud. “I’m assuming that’s Trevor and Randi?”
He nodded.
“It says you’re the party of one and I’m party of two,” she continued.
Trevor nodded again. “There’s also a little line beside each item. You have to initial each one if you agree.”
“Okay. Party one and party two will merge their business knowledge and experience and work together for the common good of the community.” She smiled at him. “I guess I can agree with that.”
He handed her a pen and she initialed it.
“Contribution. Party one will provide all necessary equipment and staffing to construct safe and up-to-standard projects. Party two will provide all necessary intellect and creativity to accomplish final design.”
“Okay. I guess I can agree with that. You provide the muscle and I provide the fluff.” She initialed the condition. “Ah, here’s the catcher.” She smiled at him. “Ownership. Party of one and party of two shall have fifty percent vested interest in said corporation.” She looked at him. “Not going for the sixty, forty? I guess I can agree with that as well.” She initialed the paper and looked at the second page.
“No peeking,” he warned.
“Decision making. Party of one and party of two must agree one hundred percent to all projects.”
“In other words,” Trevor added, “all projects need a unanimous vote of two.”
“Okay,” she initialed the line, “I can agree with that.” She moved to the second page. “Hmm. Dispute resolution. If party of one should disagree with decisions made by party of two, all negotiation shall be conducted in bed.” She looked up at him. “Trevor? Really? You put this in writing?”
He gave her a straight face. “Keep reading.”
“If party of two should continue to disagree with party of one, party of one shall provide flowers and any other enticements not to exclude more resolution in bed. Trevor, I can’t believe you had Brad put this together. I’ll have to think on this one a little longer.” She put a question mark on the line.
“Terms. Party of two must marry party of one within two months of the closing date.” She looked up at him. “What? Really? Trevor, are you serious?” She laughed. “At least Cliff and Ginny had one year.”
“I drive a hard bargain.” He slid out of the chair and kneeled in front of her. “Randi Cavanaugh, we’ll be finished with the firehouse project in the next week but I want you to be a part of my life for an eternity. Will you marry me?”
Randi stared at him. He looked so serious. So handsome. So focused. How could she say no? “Yes.” She cupped his face and kissed him. “I will marry you for an eternity.”
Suddenly there was a loud cheer from the back door as Scott and Sandy and her father barged into the kitchen.
“Did you know about this?” Randi asked her father who smiled.
Both boys jumped on Trevor’s back.
“Does this mean you and mommy will be getting married?” Scott asked.
“You made our secret come true,” Sandy exclaimed.
“What secret?” Randi asked.
“When we were in the mountains, we asked Trevor if he’d be our Dad,” Sandy said.
“Then when he picked us up from school, he said he needed to talk to us man to man,” Scott added. “Said we had to give him permission to marry our mommy.”
“Well, I’m glad you approve,” Randi exclaimed.