At Witt's End

30

"Do you really think Carl will go along with it?” Jane said.

"It's worth a try,” Mr. Bakke said. “With the new evidence Sadie's got, he can't afford not to. If the man wants to win the election, he'll do it."

Sadie double-parked in front of the city's municipal building and opened the van door. She leaned back in the driver's seat and held her palm against the horn.

Looking up from a pile of overdue reports, Carl shouted, “What the hell is that racket?” When no one responded, he again raised his voice. “Angie? What the hell is going on out there?"

The dispatcher shielded the sun from her eyes and looked through the glass pane. “It looks like that weird lady from the resort. She's holding her hand on the horn."

Grabbing his cap from a hook near the door, Carl snugged it down over his head and raced from the building.

Sadie saw Carl coming toward the van and lifted her hand off the horn. As he walked in front of the car she had hemmed in by double-parking, she pressed down, holding the horn in place with her thumb.

"Are you completely out of your mind?” Carl shouted, covering his left ear with his hand. Carl pulled the door open, climbed up into the van, and yanked her hand from the steering wheel.

"You're a flipping weirdo.” His voice rose two notches higher and cracked as he lost control. “You should be locked up in the nut house.” His nostrils curled with the spiteful words rolling off his tongue. “My mother told me you were trouble. She'll be right there celebrating when I get the deed to the resort."

Tipping her head in thought, Sadie said, “I really don't think that's going to happen. But speaking of your mother, how is Oink Etta the Wonder Pig? I haven't seen her for quite some time."

"Leave my mother out of this,” Carl shouted. “This conversation is about you disturbing the peace."

Sadie displayed a toothy grin. “Well Carl, if you're in the mood to talk…” She rammed the door lever into the locked position and turned the key in the ignition.

"What the hell are you doing?” Sadie's foot slammed against the gas pedal. Carl grabbed the door post to brace himself.

"Taking you for a nice, long ride."

"The hell you are,” he said, dropping down into the stairwell and attempting to insert his fingers into the seal surrounding the door.

Sadie turned the steering wheel sharply, causing Carl to drop onto the top step. “Calm down, Carl. I'm not kidnapping you. I just want to talk to you. I don't want anyone to hear what I have to say."

"Let me out right now,” Carl said, “or I'll break this door with my foot."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. After you hear what I've got to say, I think you'll be singing a different ditty."

Sadie parked the van under a pine tree at Nordeen Point and opened the door. “Feel free to escape if you want. But if you do, I'll go to the newspaper about Richard's murder."

"Murder?” Carl said. “Murder? Richard wasn't murdered. He died when his car went off the road."

"The evidence proves different,” Sadie said. “The evidence points to cold blooded murder."

"You think someone planned to kill him? Are you crazy?"

Jutting her chin out and glaring at Carl, Sadie said, “You ask me that same question every time you see me. I'm going to settle it once and for all. The answer is no.” Enunciating slowly, Sadie said, “I am not crazy. Are you capable of understanding that?"

"You're as squirrelly as a two-peckered loon. Everyone knows that."

"Well then you better pay attention. Apparently only a crazy person is smart enough to figure out Richard was murdered.” Irritated that Carl turned his back on her and descended the steps, she raised her voice. “Richard was killed because he was about to go to the police."

Sadie detailed her suspicions and told him about the evidence she found at the Fossums'. Carl sank into the seat next to the door. He slowly shook his head from side to side in disbelief as Sadie continued to explain.

"You're telling me I'm supposed to believe you because you saw evidence on Richard's desk, but you don't have anything to show me?"

"You must not be listening,” Sadie said. “I told you I don't have anything to show you because that murdering partner of yours took it."

"Partner? Paul was Richard's partner, not mine."

"Oh you're his partner, all right. I had someone do some checking with the State and they found old partnership papers stating you're one of Paul's silent partners. So don't tell me you're not his partner."

"We formed that corporation years ago. I haven't had anything to do with it for over a decade.” Carl moved to the edge of his seat. He removed his cap and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “You can't possibly think I had anything to do with this story you're making up."

Slamming her fist against her leg, Sadie said, “I'm not making it up. I saw what I saw."

"Can anyone else verify your story?"

Throwing her head back with a moan, she said, “Noooo. I already told you that. Nobody can verify what I saw."

"Sounds to me like you don't have a case. If you're trying to involve me in this, you're wasting your time.” Carl grabbed the overhead support bar next to the door and stood up.

"You're going to be involved in this one way or another. I'm not finished yet. I'm here to barter with you."

"Really?” Carl droned in disbelief. “You don't have anything I want. Why would I barter with a dried up old hag like you?"

"If you want to become sheriff, you'll barter with me."

A throaty laugh spurted from Carl's lips. He lifted his cap and scratched his bald spot. “I'm already going to get the resort. So there's nothing else to talk about."

"You're not getting the resort. You're going to drop your lawsuit and settle for winning the election."

With mouth gaping, Carl craned his neck forward. “That confirms it. You are crazy.” Fidgeting with the brim of his cap, he said, “You really don't get it, do you? That resort belongs to me. If someone's been feeding you a line of bull about winning this lawsuit, you'd better face facts and prepare to move on. Next week you're losing title to the resort."

Sadie held her fingers out to admire the anchor decals she had applied to her nails. “I don't think so. Like I said before, if you won't barter with me, I'll take my information to the newspaper. You'll not only lose the resort, you'll also lose the election."

"Then you better do it. That way when you leave the resort, everyone will agree it was for the best. Half the town already knows you're crazy. If you go to the newspaper with that asinine story, it will confirm it for the other half."

"Going to the paper will make everyone adore me even more than they already do."

Carl puckered his lips and rolled his eyes. “Sure it will."

"When I tell everyone Lon helped me solve the case, maybe he'll be elected sheriff. Heaven knows he deserves it."

With a quick side glance, Carl said, “What does Lon have to do with this?"

"If you hadn't been so nasty over the years, maybe he wouldn't be so eager to prove it was murder."

Sadie beamed, tipped her head, and toyed with an anchor earring. “I haven't had this much fun in years. I've got you right where I want you. Actually, I've never wanted you. But seeing you this uncomfortable is better than sex."

"That's it,” Carl shouted. He pressed the call button on the speaker attached to his shoulder. “Angie? I'm on the east end of Nordeen Point. Send a cruiser to pick me up."

Static blared through the speaker as Angie said, “You're where?"

As Carl pressed the button to repeat his location, Sadie said, “The rim on Richard's tire has a bullet hole in it."

Carl released the button. “What?"

"Well not actually a bullet hole, but evidence a bullet struck the rim. Lon's friend towed the car from the junk yard to his garage and found an indentation on the rim. They went back to the scene of the accident and did a thorough search."

Thrilled that she had piqued Carl's curiosity, Sadie continued, “They searched the area this time as if it had been a crime scene. They gathered the rubber tire shreds you didn't even bother to look for."

Dropping down on the top step, Carl leaned his head against a support pole and closed his eyes.

"They tested the rubber shreds and found traces of lead fragments. And you know what else they found?” Sadie watched Carl's right eyelid pop open. “They used a metal detector and found some shell casings. Lon said they were able to match the casings and fragments to the type of rifle used to fire the shot."

Releasing a deep sigh, Carl stared straight ahead. “It's a Winchester.300 Win Mag, isn't it?"

Clapping her hands together, Sadie said, “Give that man a prize. Isn't it peculiar Paul owns the same type of rifle? Lon also told me it was the same type you use when you compete in contests. He even said Paul's rifle was in your possession more often than it was locked up in Paul's gun cabinet."

Grabbing the support bar and pulling on it, Carl said, “Now wait just a second. If you think I had something to do with Richard's murder, you're wrong. Dead wrong."

"Murder? You're admitting it was murder?” Sadie jabbed a finger toward him. “That's what I needed to hear.” Pointing toward the seat next to the passenger door, Sadie said, “Sit. Now we're going to barter."

Carl stared at his feet. “What do you want?"

Smoothing the fabric on her shorts and tugging at her shirt hem, Sadie wagged her head in contemplation. “Here's exactly what I want. If you drop the lawsuit against us, I won't go to the newspaper. I'll even let you be the hero for solving the case. That, of course, comes with the stipulation you stop harassing Lon. He didn't rough up that guy last summer, you did."

"I'm going to take credit for solving this case by myself,” Carl said, before Sadie could draw a breath and start her next sentence. “No one would ever believe you were capable of solving it."

"Lon's ready to back me up. He'll tell everyone I was the one who came forward with the proof and you failed to find the evidence. And don't forget you're Paul's partner. If Paul committed fraud, and if news gets out that you're in cahoots with him, you'll not only lose the election, you'll lose your job. You'll be named as an accessory."

Grinning, Sadie said, “Don't you just love those legal words? Lon educated me on what to tell the authorities in case anything happens to him."

"You bitch,” Carl muttered under his breath.

"Now was that nice?” Sadie bent down to gaze into his face.

"It fits."

"It may fit, but you forgot to put ‘clever’ in front of it. Once Lon listened to me, it didn't take long for him to locate the evidence. The hard part was finding information on Paul's business holdings and tracking down his cash flow."

Sadie smiled at Carl's discomfort. “Don't look so surprised. Did you really think he'd stop digging once he had proof the tire was shot? Once he discovered that, he couldn't wait to look deeper into Paul's business holdings. What excited him most was finding your name buried deep within Paul's corporate records."

"That doesn't prove I was involved."

Gesturing with an open palm, Sadie said, “It also doesn't prove you weren't involved. Or that you weren't aware of what was going on. I would guess being a silent partner is enough to sway people's vote."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't. That's the beauty of it,” Sadie said. “I've got you either way. If you take the resort away from us, I'll go to the press and your career will be over. If you agree to drop your lawsuit now, but try to get the resort at a later date,” Sadie explained as she reached into her purse, “I've got a signed copy from Lon verifying your silent partnership with Paul and my involvement in solving the case."

Sadie waved the folded paper under his nose. “I'm not stupid. I've got copies in my safety deposit box. You might end up owning the resort, but you won't be able to enjoy it from prison."

She tucked the sheets back in her purse. “Don't forget there'll always be a record of your involvement in Paul's corporation. It might interest you that a client of Paul's who was cheated out of money is Mrs. Fading Sun. Does that name ring a bell? You wouldn't want the diversity crusaders to find out you're Paul's partner."

"Oh, and one more thing,” Sadie said. “There's no guarantee I've told you everything. Maybe I've got a little tidbit tucked away for safekeeping."

Sadie turned the key in the ignition. “I expect you to be at my cabin by ten o'clock tomorrow morning with a signed statement indicating you've agreed to drop the lawsuit. If you're not on time, I'll go to the newspaper and tell them what I know."

Carl closed his eyes in resignation.

"My favorite restaurant is Yerry's on the Bay. I believe a gift certificate for three dinners will be an adequate apology for all that nasty name-calling you did earlier."