Chapter 16. One Suspect Left

When Sue brings the sheriff his first coffee on Tuesday morning he says, “There are only two suspects left, Jake Black and David Wellborne. I’m putting my money on Jake. He has the most to gain if I’m right about him and Jolene. I’ll focus on him first. I just have to figure out a way to prove he’s guilty. I don’t have a murder weapon and there were no witnesses. Do you have any ideas, Sue?”

“No, Sheriff. I would ask Pam Lafave for help, but I know you don’t want her involved.”

“You’ve got that right. If it got around that she solved another murder for me I’d probably lose the next election. I’ve got to figure this out myself.”

“There’s the phone, I’ll get it.” Sue leaves to get the phone then calls to the sheriff, “It’s Jolene Crenshaw for you, Sheriff.”

The sheriff answers the phone and listens as Jolene explains how Jake’s insurance company may be able to verify Jake’s alibi. When she’s through he asks, “What insurance company does Jake use?”

Jolene tells him she doesn't know. She does know he bought his insurance from Northern Insurance in Pineville. She says the office manager will know.

The sheriff says, “Good, Bob Wilson’s my deputy’s brother. I’m sure he’ll help me. Thanks for the tip, Jolene. Goodbye.”

The sheriff calls Bob Wilson, gets the name of Jake’s insurance company and verifies that Jake has one of the devices that track his driving behavior to get discounts on his premiums. He calls Sue in and asks her to call the company and find out who can tell him what Jake’s device says for October 12. Fifteen minutes later Sue tells him to pick up his phone, the person he needs to talk to is on the line.

Sheriff Ericsson explains what he wants to know. The insurance company lady tells him he’ll have to have a warrant for the insurance company to give him the information he wants. It’s a privacy issue she says and gives him a number to use for faxing the warrant.

The sheriff tells her his office no longer has a fax machine. He asks if the warrant can be emailed. She says yes and gives him the necessary email address.

“Sue, get me Judge Hopper on the phone. I need a warrant.”

“Let me call his secretary first. I’ll find out exactly what Judge Hopper wants in the warrant request. It’ll go faster if we do it right the first time. We haven’t had to get a warrant from Judge Hopper since she was elected.”

“You are right as usual, Sue.”

By mid-afternoon the sheriff has the warrant. He has Sue email it to the insurance company and call the insurance lady back.

When the lady is on the line the sheriff says, “You should have the warrant now. How soon can you tell me where Jake Black’s truck was the evening of October 12 and the exact times it was at each location?”

The lady responds, “There’s an easier way, Sheriff. You tell me the times and places you want to check for that evening. Then you get the tracking device and Jake’s cell phone. Drive to where Jake claims he was, wait 15 minutes and leave. We can check and tell you if the place you stop for 15 minutes is the same location and time Jake claims, and if it is, how long he was there. Can you do that?”

“I don’t see why you can’t tell me if his truck was at the restaurant he says he was at that evening.”

“I could, but I would have to have the exact GPS coordinates in the format our system uses. That would still require you to drive there to get the coordinates. If you take the device our computer will automatically have the coordinates in the right format. Do you see?”

“I guess. Okay, I’ll have a deputy drive there with Jake’s cell phone and tracking device. He’ll stop for 15 minutes and leave as you ask. He’ll go there tomorrow morning at about 9:00 or a little later. Please call me and let me know if the location matches where Jake’s truck was around 7:00 on October 12. I need to know when he got there and when he left.”

“I’ll call you when I have verified the warrant and have the data. Goodbye, Sheriff.”

The next morning the insurance lady calls the sheriff at 10:30. She tells him the location where the deputy stopped for 15 minutes earlier that morning is the exact location where Jake’s truck was the evening of October 12 from 6:23 to 9:13.

Right after the sheriff hangs up Sue hears him say, “Damn!”

“Is there a problem, Sheriff, Sue asks.”

“Jake’s alibi holds up. He couldn’t have gotten back to the harbor before 10:00. If Carson went there to go fishing he would have been out on the lake long before then. Jake isn’t our killer. Damn, damn. I was sure he and Jolene were in it to get Carson’s money. Now the only suspect I have is David Wellborne. It’s a challenge. No weapon and no witnesses. I’ve got to think. I’m going out on patrol. Maybe some driving and lunch at the Dinner Pail restaurant will help me think.”

“Don’t forget to have a piece of pie. I hear they have wonderful pies.”

“I will, Sue, thanks for reminding me.”

Marylynn, Paul Water’s secretary is about to go out for lunch when the phone rings and Waters picks up before she can get back to her phone and answer. Thinking it’s strange he picked up she decided to listen in. It’s Glen Lund calling. Lund says, “I heard Jake Black is the prime suspect in Crenshaw’s murder. People are saying the sheriff believes Jake and Jolene Crenshaw wanted Carson’s money so Jake killed him. If it’s true Jake and Jolene are guilty what does it mean for our plan to get that property.”

“It means we’ll get it faster, Glen. Now hang up. I’ve told you not to call me at the office. Marylynn could overhear us.”

“I called at noon, Paul, thinking she’s out for lunch and we can talk without her listening.”

“I’ve told you to be patient, Glen, goodbye.”

Marylynn puts the receiver down quietly and leaves for lunch. In the afternoon she leaves the mayor’s office at 2:00 for her perm appointment with Erin. When she arrives Erin, Violet and Jolene are in high spirits. She learns that Jolene found out during lunch the sheriff had verified Jake’s alibi and Jake is no longer a suspect. Marylynn says softly to Erin, “I wonder how the mayor and Glen Lund are going to react to Jake being innocent?”

“Why are you wondering about that, Marylynn?

“Well, I shouldn’t say anything, but I overheard them talking today. Glen asked the mayor what it would mean for their plan to get the property if Jake and Jolene are found guilty of Carson’s murder. The mayor told Lund it would mean they would get it faster. Those two are up to something again, Erin. They are always looking at some scheme to take advantage of someone. I don’t know what their current scheme is but it must have to do with the Wellborne beach property.”

Erin replies, “You don’t think they had anything to do with Crenshaw’s murder do you, Marylynn?”

“Oh no, those two wouldn’t murder anyone, they’re too sneaky for that. No, it’s got to be something more subtle.”

“Still, it must have something to do with the murder. Otherwise why would Lund be asking questions like that?”

“I don’t know. Let’s talk about something else. Do you think I should change my hairstyle?” asks Marylynn.

Pam Lafave is Erin’s next appointment. She sits reading a magazine as Erin finishes Marylynn’s perm. After Marylynn leaves and Pam is getting her haircut she says to Erin, “Marylynn seemed distracted when I greeted her. Is something bothering her?”

“Yes, she overheard the mayor and Glen Lund talking about some plan they have to get the Wellborne property. That gets to me. Jolene’s had enough trouble with Carson being killed, the sheriff accusing her, then her and Jake. She doesn’t need someone trying to cheat her out of the Wellborne property. Let’s not say anything to her unless we know more about what the mayor is up to. I’m sure he’s the one behind it. Lund isn’t devious enough to think of a shady plan on his own. Let's not talk about that now. We should be happy Jolene’s no longer a suspect, and Jake too for that matter.”

Pam replies, “With Jake and Jolene cleared it leaves only David Wellborne as a suspect. The detective in me always looks to who has the most to gain or lose from a murder. Jolene had the most to gain, but only if she didn’t love Carson anymore. Now that she and Jake are proven innocent Wellborne may have the most to gain. Especially if he thinks there is some way he can get his property back with Carson dead. All we know from what Mary Jane Bloom wrote about the meeting is that Wellborne stood to lose a lot of money if Carson built only four houses instead of 20. His motive for killing Carson could be revenge for losing the money or maybe he has a plan to get the property back.”

“Do you think Wellborne’s the killer, Pam?”

“He’s the only suspect the sheriff has left and he surely has the motive of revenge for his losses. He may even have a motive based on expecting to get the property back. I can’t think of anyone else that has a motive that hasn’t been cleared by the sheriff. So, yes, I think Welborne’s the killer. He’s the one I would go after if I wanted to solve this case.”

“How would you prove him guilty, Pam? Sue Johnson, the sheriff’s secretary told Violet the sheriff keeps complaining this is a difficult case because there’s no murder weapon and no witnesses. What would you do?”

“First, you have to gather as many facts as you can, then know the weaknesses of the suspect. Often a suspect's weaknesses can be used to induce them to make a mistake that proves their guilt. In Wellborne’s case it’s his short temper. His father was known as a hothead and David has the same temper from what I remember growing up here. Second, if there are no witnesses then you have to look for other ways to prove a suspect had the opportunity as well as a motive.”

“We all know Wellborne was at the meeting but how could you prove he followed Carson to the harbor?”

“Erin, how did the sheriff prove Jake was where he said he was?”

“Oh, why didn’t I think of it? If Wellborne has one of those gadgets that gets you a discount on your car insurance it would tell if he was at the harbor.”

“Bingo, Erin. I’ll bet Wellborne, being a former local and back on weekends often, gets his car insurance from the same place as Jake, me and most locals. If he does, it’s almost certain Bob Wilson talked him into putting a tracking device in his car to get a discount on his premiums. If the sheriff can put Wellborne’s car at the harbor at the time of Carson’s murder and uses Wellborne’s temper as leverage he just might solve this case.”

“You’re still a great detective, Pam. Why don’t you go tell the sheriff what you’ve told me?”

“No. He wouldn’t want to hear it from me. You can tell him. You can say a bunch of the ladies got to gossiping and came up with the idea. Even better if you can think of a way to make the sheriff believe it’s his idea. There’s one other piece of this puzzle we haven’t talked about. The sheriff has to have a way to get Welllborne here without tipping him off that he’s going to be accused of the murder. He needs to be surprised to take advantage of his temper.”

“Good point, Pam. Do you have any ideas on how the sheriff can get Wellborne here without tipping his hand?”

“No, but if Marylynn’s right the mayor and Glen Lund are up to something having to do with the Wellborne beach property then the sheriff may be able to get the mayor to help get Wellborne to come to Pineville.”

“Pam, how about you, Violet, Jolene and I have dinner together tonight and work out how to get the sheriff on the right path and think it’s his idea? I’ll order a pizza and get some wine.”

“Good idea, Erin. It’ll be the detective team from Erin’s Cut and Curl. You’ll have to watch that I don’t have too much wine or you’ll have to put me up for the night. I don’t want to be driving out to my place in the dark after too much wine. The days are getting shorter so it’ll be dark by the time we’ve finished eating and talking.”

“I’ll watch that you don’t drink too much. But if you do you are more than welcome to spend the night in my spare bedroom. Before you leave let me confirm our plan with Violet and Jolene.”