The Agency Page 7

  I’m really beginning to rely on him, especially when it comes to finding out who was behind the murders. A good thing, he thought, as John seemed to be intelligent, shrewd, and had good judgment when it came to figuring things out. Is that the only reason? He knew it wasn’t, but now was not the time to explore his personal feelings for the man, as he’d cautioned himself more than once in the past few weeks. I don’t even know if he thinks of me as more than his friendly boss.

  He almost called John to tell him his plan, then thought better of it. What he had in mind was better talked about face-to-face. Taking out his phone, he did call—to ask him to come in early to work the following morning.

  * * * *

  John heard Kip out before saying, “My first instinct is to tell you you’re crazy and it’s not happening.”

  “It would work and I think I can convince Sheriff Long to help us. We’ve kept in touch since I first met him. Not so much recently, but we have. He won’t be happy…” Kip grimaced. “However if it stops any more killings, having him angry with me at first will be worth it.”

  “I don’t like you putting yourself in the line of fire.”

  “Do you have a better idea? Even if the police do find out who really owns the salvage yard Parker worked for, they’ll have to prove Parker was also their hired killer. That could take too long and more people could die. Sure, if we’re right, the victims would be ones who also worked for whomever and crossed them, but even so they don’t deserve to be murdered.”

  John got up and began pacing Kip’s office. Finally he said, “We’re going to up the security here and you don’t go anywhere unless you’re armed. As far as that goes, if your sheriff is willing to help, from the moment he sets things in motion you don’t go anywhere unless I’m with you, whether you’re working with clients off-site, going grocery shopping, or stopping off at our favorite bar for a drink.”

  “That won’t work, John. How are they going to come after me if I’m wrapped up in a cocoon?”

  “Do you have a death wish?” John growled.

  Kip chuckled. “Not really.” He sobered. “It’s…I feel guilty. I should have told Sheriff Long what I saw, but I was a kid and scared shitless that if I did, they’d find me. Not a great excuse, but the truth. I’ve already told you all of that. I thought about it a lot at first but in time, as I began to create a new life, it sort of faded into a bad memory after I convinced myself telling him wouldn’t have stopped the killings. They’d just have sent someone else if Parker and his buddy were arrested. Then Alexander was murdered and the cops had Parker’s picture. I could have come forward then but what good would it have done, other than to connect his killing with Constantine’s.”

  “So you decided to do some detective work on your own instead. I get that. Hell, I’ve been helping you.”

  “Not that we’ve learned anything, damn it,” Kip groused. “As far as I can figure, neither have the police. I mean, obviously they haven’t, or Ms. Lincoln would still be alive, presuming she’s dead by now.”

  “They have the resources to find out who owns the LLC company that owns the salvage yard.”

  “Uh-uh. Not from what I found out. The owners of an LLC set up in New Mexico are truly anonymous. There are no records of who owns or manages it.”

  “So I shouldn’t start digging,” John replied with a brief grin.

  “Nope.”

  “Meaning we’re left with your plan, if the sheriff doesn’t just toss you in jail for concealing evidence before handing you over to the police down here.”

  “I hope I can convince him not to do that.”

  “You won’t know until you talk with him, so give him a call. We can go up on Saturday, if he’s available.”

  Kip called. After the usual ‘how are things going’ conversation, he told Sheriff Long that he was going to be in the area with a friend and wanted to stop by to say hello in person. The sheriff thought it was a great idea, suggesting they meet at his house.

  “Yes, Kip,” he added with a laugh, “I do have one, although sometimes I wonder why, since I spend most of my time working. The joys of being a small town sheriff.”

  After giving Kip the address, and suggesting they meet at noon so he could barbecue burgers for them for lunch, the sheriff hung up.

  “Now it’s done,” Kip said after taking a deep breath. “Let’s hope it works.”

  * * * *

  Kip and John left Denver early Saturday morning. It would take them over four hours to get to their destination, so Kip said they’d use his car. John didn’t argue, primarily because the weather report said there was a strong possibility of heavy rains between Glenwood Springs and Rifle. They did run into rain, but hardly the storms they’d been expecting.

  “Not exactly a booming metropolis,” John commented as they drove down the main street through Elderon.

  “No kidding. It’s smaller than I remember,” Kip replied as he searched for the road to the sheriff’s house.

  “You were a kid.”

  “I was seventeen. I haven’t grown taller since then. I put on weight, but I don’t think that counts. Ah, finally.” Kip made the turn then drove until he saw a mailbox with the sheriff’s name. As soon as he pulled into the driveway the sheriff came out of the house. Seconds later Kip was trying to breathe as the sheriff gave him a hard hug.

  Stepping back, the sheriff put his hands on Kip’s shoulders. “Look at you. All grown up.”

  “It happens. You’re looking good.”

  “Fresh air and sunshine,” the sheriff retorted, turning his gaze to John. “I’m presuming from how Kip’s described you that you’re John.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m Mitch, and I’d like it if you’d call me that. It took forever to convince Kip he should. Like…” He glanced at Kip. “Four years? Not until after he’d set up the agency.”

  “He still calls you Sheriff Long when he talks about you,” John replied, grinning at Kip.

  “Habit,” Kip said. “He’s one of my mentors. He deserves respect.”

  Mitch snorted and then suggested they go around back. “The grill’s hot, the burgers are made. I bought potato salad from Milly at the diner, and I’m starving.”

  Kip and John followed him to the back yard.

  “Bruiser, behave,” Mitch barked out when a large pit bull came bounding over the greet them. “He’s a big baby who thinks he’s the defender of the universe when he meets people he doesn’t know,” Mitch said. He pointed to the ground and the dog instantly sat back on its haunches, tongue lolling out.

  “I always wanted a pittie,” John said, scratching the dog’s head. “Problem is, they’re banned in Denver.”

  “Some people are stupid,” Mitch muttered. “But I’m not going into my rant about that. Kip, if you don’t mind would you put the burgers on the grill while I get to know your friend.”

  “Oh, boy,” John said, sitting at the picnic table when Mitch gestured to it.

  For the next few minutes, while Kip cooked, Mitch quizzed John on everything from why he’d become a private investigator to why he owned a bike, not a car—after John revealed that fact. He stopped when Kip brought over a plate with the burgers.

  “I’ve been remiss,” Mitch said, going into the house. He returned with three bottles of beer and a bowl of potato salad, setting everything on the table. As they ate, they talked about life in the city versus living in the mountains.

  When the meal was finished and the plates and dishes taken into the kitchen, Mitch got more beer. Sitting down again, he looked at Kip. “Okay, do you want to tell me why you suddenly decided to pay me a visit?”

  Kip nodded. “You’re not going to like what I have to say, but maybe when I finish you’ll understand. I hope you do, because I need your help.”

  “This should be interesting,” Mitch replied dryly.

  Kip told him everything that had happened on the day they’d first met, from watching Constantine’s murder to why he’d lied
when he’d admitted he’d seen the man—but not how. He then went on to tell him about Alexander’s murder, Parker’s picture on the news, the other murders he thought were linked to him, and finally the fact that Parker was dead, too. “Shot in the back of the head, execution-style. The same way he killed Constantine and Alexander.”

  When Kip finished, Mitch pressed his hands together, frowning. “If you’d told me the truth about Constantine, Mr. Parker and his accomplice might have been caught.”

  “I know that,” Kip replied, looking down so he didn’t have to meet Mitch’s gaze. “I’ve regretted it ever since, although I finally convinced myself if they had been arrested someone else would have taken over.”

  “Probably, but you still didn’t let me or anyone else know you could identify Parker and his accomplice so they could be caught and punished.”

  “Mitch, I was young and homeless. Who would have believed me? I was also scared out of my mind. Terrified that if I did they’d know it was me who ratted them out and come after me, since Parker got a good look at me before I ran. It took a long time to get over that fear.”

  “Now it’s back?” Mitch asked.

  “I’m not afraid any more. Not since Parker’s murder. After all, as I said, he was the one who got a decent enough look at me to identify me. Before that? Yeah, I was looking over my shoulder after his picture showed up on the news. Ask John. He caught me at it and made me tell him why.” Kip smiled when John gave his arm a squeeze. “I’m pissed, though. At myself, because it was at least partly my fault Parker was able to kill those people. But more so at whoever sent him after them.”

  “If we’re right, and it is a leap,” John said, “Most of the ones we think he or one of his pals killed were involved in money laundering.” He laid out the facts as they knew them.

  Mitch rapped a finger on the table when he finished. “It makes sense to me.” He almost smiled. “Crime doesn’t pay, or so I’ve been told. Apparently those people who died didn’t believe that. Personally, I try to make certain it’s the truth, to the best of my abilities.”

  “Then you’ll help me?” Kip asked.

  “Tell me what you have in mind.”

  “Okay. Don’t take offense, but you are a small town sheriff, far from any large city and what happens in them. The reason you know about Constantine’s murder is because his body was found nearby, and someone told you they’d seen him just before he was killed. But that’s it.”

  “The last part, about Constantine, is true,” Mitch replied. “The rest, I’d debate. I do have internet and I keep up with the news.”

  “Out of Denver?” John asked.

  Mitch shrugged. “Sometimes. I’m more interested in what happens west of the Divide if you want the honest truth.”

  “That works for this,” Kip said. “Parker’s body was found last Saturday. It made the local news and one of the national outlets, with his connection to Mr. Alexander.” He smiled wryly. “Slow news day for them, I guess. Anyway, say you happened to see the story. It didn’t really sink in until you had time to think about it a couple of days later. At that point, you remembered that Constantine’s body had been found in the area, killed in the same way Alexander and Parker were. And his body turned up buried up in the mountains the way Alexander’s did. Then you remembered the kid who said he saw Constantine not long before he died.”

  “And when I did—” Mitch gave them a knowing look. “Of course I wanted to track him down and have a long talk with him because I’d never quite believed he’d told me the whole truth.”

  “Yes! It took you a few days, but since you knew his…my name, you eventually found me,” Kip said. “The next problem was convincing me to come forward and tell the police what I saw, including what the second man looked like.”

  “But the only person Kip’s willing to tell his story to is you, Mitch, because he trusts you,” John added. “So he agrees to come back here to talk with you.”

  “So far, so good. The problem is, how do the people connected to the murders learn all this?” Mitch asked.

  John smiled. “You announce it to the local news outlets. I presume there are some.”

  Mitch snorted. “A weekly paper here in town, and a daily paper plus a tiny TV station the next town over. This will be big news, though, so I can probably convince Walt, he owns the TV station, to let his cronies in Grand Junction know what’s going on, as long as he gets the exclusive first. Hopefully they’ll think the story is big enough they pass it on to their national affiliates.”

  “If they don’t, this isn’t going to work,” John said. “Something we hadn’t thought about.”

  “I’ll get Walt to play it up as a cold case solved by a small town cop. People eat that kind of thing up.” Mitch rested his elbows on the table, looking thoughtful. “Okay. So I get you to come here to tell me what you saw, at which point I arrest you for obstruction of justice and let the news outlets know. That will give anyone who’s interested a place to find you—and keep you safe at the same time.”

  “I don’t want to be safe,” Kip protested. “If they can’t get to me, we’ll never know who’s behind all this.”

  “Have you seen our jail? Yeah, you probably have, now that I think of it since we talked in my office the first time we met. It has three cells, John, with access from the hallway behind my office, and the back door. Considering the only crimes I generally have to deal with are occasional public drunkenness or petty theft, they’re empty most of the time.”

  “What’s the security like?” John asked.

  “Lock and key, a couple of cameras, an alarm box,” Mitch told him. “Nothing a competent outsider who knows what he’s doing couldn’t bypass. Before you fault me for that, like I said, the crime around here is small stuff and I don’t have the budget to get fancy with security.”

  “Right now, that’s a good thing. The only access to town is the road we came in on?”

  “Yep, unless you’re into hiking in.”

  “It could be a possibility if whoever the big boss sends out here scouts the area first. They wouldn’t want to announce their presence until they’ve either grabbed Kip or tried to kill him.”

  “Not a pleasant thought,” Mitch said. “I presume you’re planning on our catching them in the act, which might net us a couple of killers. But how will it lead us to the big boss? For damned sure they’re not going to rat him out. Not when he had Parker killed just because his face showed up on TV as a person of interest.”

  “We figure that’s also the reason Ms. Lincoln disappeared. She was about to be indicted for money laundering. You do something stupid, you die,” John said. “They’d know that, so once we’ve got them, you call in the Feds who offer them protective custody in exchange for their testimony against their boss.” John turned to Kip, who was looking at him in disbelief. “Sorry,” he said, resting his hand on Kip’s arm. “I know you wanted to deal with him yourself, if we could get his name out of them, but think about it. Would guys like them break down and tell all because a small town sheriff and I caught them trying to get to you.”

  Kip’s mouth tightened as he scowled at John. Then slowly he relaxed, sighing. “You’re right, of course, my wishes to the contrary.”

  Mitch smiled at him. “There’s being a hero, and then there’s being smart. Sometimes the two don’t mesh.”

  “Mitch,” John asked, “do you have any deputies? We’re going to want more than just the two of us protecting Kip.”

  “Yep. I have two part-timers who work weekends.”

  “Do they know which end of a gun to point at someone?”

  “Do you think I’d have them working for me if they didn’t? Okay, scratch that, since you asked. This area is known for good hunting, in season, and they’re definitely deer hunters. Most of the people in town are. It’s our yearly excitement, other than the Fourth of July celebration.”

  “Definitely small town,” John replied, getting a lifted eyebrow from Mitch. “Sorry, but you ha
ve to admit it fits the stereotype. The only thing missing is the county fair.”

  Mitch chuckled. “That’s held two towns over.”

  “Big surprise.” John grinned when Mitch raised his middle finger. “Okay, we’ve got a very basic plan. Now we have to figure out when to put it in motion.”

  “The sooner the better,” Kip said. “We’ll close the agency when we do. It won’t seem odd because I always do for vacations, since Nina can’t run the place on her own.”

  “Now you won’t have to. You have me,” John said. “But…No, we won’t close. That would seem suspicious if they found out. Nina does what she’s good at, tells whoever calls we’re out in the field and will call them back.”

  “I’ll have to give her a reason why,” Kip replied. Then he nodded. “We’re going undercover for a case. I’ve done that twice it the last a couple of years, so it won’t seem too strange as far as she’s concerned.”

  “All right, we have that worked out,” Mitch said. “You two, go home. I’ll be in touch on Monday. In the meantime I’ll get things set up here.”

  “Thank you,” Kip replied. “I mean it. Thank you for going along with me on this. You could have said no and arrested me for obstruction of justice.”

  “Nope. The statute of limitations on a felony is three years in Colorado. Of course I’ll be playing fast and loose with that in terms of our plan, but then I am only a small town sheriff.” Mitch winked. “What do I know?”

  “A lot more than the people who elected you think, I bet,” John replied.

  “Probably, and yet they keep doing it. I’m the only one in town stupid enough to want the job.”

  They all laughed, and then after thanking him again, Kip and John left.

  * * * *

  It was late when they got back to Denver, thanks to a multi-car accident at the western end of the Eisenhower Tunnel.

  “I can fix us something to eat,” Kip said when they got to the agency.