Three Dog Day (27 page)

“
Don't Vet students have to operate under the mantle of a lead researcher? I didn't find anything listed under the faculty members.”

“
I think so, but I bet there are student projects that fall through the cracks.”

Ben was starting to look more cheerful. “Do you want to come with me over to the vet school?” he asked.

“
Depends on the time. When are you going? Did I tell you I found a possible witness to my brother's killing?”

“
My God, that seems impossible after all these years.”

“
It does, but I have a time set up to talk with the guy this afternoon.”

“
Any progress on getting your foster mother out of jail?”

“
Not yet, and even if this witness saw Aarne kill Kurt, it won't help get Jocelyn out.”

“
But it might mean that you don't have to turn in that evidence we never discussed,” Ben said. His voice had dropped to a whisper. “You're walking a hard road, my friend.”

“
You've got that right.” Wayne nodded.

“
My appointment at the vet school's at three,” Ben said.

“
Can't go then. My conference call is at that time.”

At three o'clock Wayne put the call through to Mr. James Wilshire. The voice of the receptionist at the Northwoods Place was already familiar.

“
Could I speak with James Wilshire?”

“
Certainly, sir. He said he was expecting an important call. I'll ring their apartment now.”

“
Hello?” The old man's voice was still strong.

“
Mr. Wilshire, this is Detective Nichols from the Rosedale Sheriff's Department in Tennessee. I spoke with your wife a few days ago.”

“
Yes, we talked about it. She said you found Jocelyn. I was glad to hear she's still alive.”

“
I'm trying everything I can to get her out of prison.” Wayne felt a rise of shame for having left her there so long.

“
I hope you do. Becky and I always felt guilty we did so little to help that little gal. In those days, you know, the police wouldn't intervene in a fight between a man and his wife.”

“
Did Mrs. Wilshire tell you that I want to get Aarne listed at Kurt's killer?”

“
She did. She told you I saw the killing, but actually I didn't see much.” Wayne's heart sank. “I heard three shots, right in a row. Crack, crack, crack, and I was worried. It wasn't hunting season and those weren't the sounds of a rifle. I started running, like I had this premonition, right over to the Outinen's back field. I saw Aarne dragging something.

“
I was at the top of a little rise about fifty y
ards
away. As soon as he saw me, Aarne dropped whatever he was dragging. I yelled, asking him what was going on. He said he had shot a coyote, but it didn't look like fur by his feet. It looked like denim. I started walking toward him, and he raised a thirty-eight revolver, one of those with a six-inch barrel, like the cowboys used in the old West.”

“
Then what happened?” Wayne tried to keep his voice level.

“
Well, to make a long story short, he brandished his gun and told me to get off his property. Truth is, I was afraid it was Jocelyn he'd shot. Never crossed my mind that it was the boy. I just turned and walked back home, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. That night after supper, Becky and I went over there. Aarne came to the door, and we insisted on seeing Jocelyn. She came up behind him. She was just a little mouse, that woman. Anyway, once we saw she was fine, we left. It was a couple days later that Becky found Jocelyn crying about Kurt.”

“
Didn't you inform the police?” Wayne asked, his voice strangled. He could hardly talk.

“
I called them after Becky heard that Aarne had shot Kurt, but you see, Becky never saw the body. At the time, Jocelyn was such a confused mess that Becky wasn't completely sure she knew what she was saying. We called the sheriff's office and they said they would send someone. Then there was this big fire in Barrett's General Store and it was a day or two before the deputy came out. He asked Becky to show them where she and Jocelyn were sitting when they talked. They started to dig. Once they found Kurt's body, they found Aarne's too. With Jocelyn missing, they assumed she had done one or both of the killings. That was the last we ever heard of the matter.”

“
Thank you for the information, Mr. Wilshire,” Wayne said, but his voice was defeated.

“
I've felt bad all these years, Detective. I've looked at it from every direction, wondering what I should have done different. There was no bringing back Kurt, you see, and Jocelyn was missing. So, I had to put it out of my mind. Had nightmares for months, finally had to see a shrink. I took every antidepressant they had then. Took electroshock to get me straight again.”

Wayne took a deep breath, wanting to spare this good man any more pain. Thinking of Mr. Wilshire's words—that he had to put the incident out of his mind—Wayne said, “You did just what I did, Mr. Wilshire. I put it out of my mind too. I regret that now.”

“
Well you were just a kid and what's done is done. We have to concentrate on the living. I hope you can get Jocelyn released. She paid a terrible price for her marriage to old Aarne.”

“
Indeed,” Wayne said, and they said goodbye. He thought for a long time about what he had learned from Mr. Wilshire. Since he hadn't actually seen the killing, his report would probably not be enough to convict Aarne of the killing, at least without the gun. He might never be able to get Aarne listed as Kurt's killer. He might never be able to bury his brother. After all his years in law enforcement, he knew some questions never got answered. He would force himself to take Mr. Wilshire's advice. It was time to concentrate on the living and on forgiving himself.

S
heriff Ben Bradley, at the wheel of his own truck and feeling somewhat optimistic about the murder case for the first time in weeks, held the passenger door open for Mae. Detective Rob Fuller was already in the backseat. The three of them were going to the vet school. Mae had given him the idea of looking into Gretchen Wilkes, who had tried to adopt both of her pit bull puppies. Ben had learned to trust his girlfriend's instincts and put Cam on it right away. As she had confirmed, Gretchen was employed by the vet school, but Cam hadn't found other details of her employment.

The College of Veterinary Medicine was administratively part of the University, although it was geographically separate. A complex of large individual buildings, it was set amid rolling hills and stock barns. The school owned flocks of sheep, a modern dairy facility, and a stable of blooded race horses with an oval track for trotters and an ice cream parlor. The ice cream parlor was a popular spot for students and faculty because the cream came fresh from the dairy herd and the cones were delicious.

The three of them walked up to the large granite building with imposing Ionic columns. “I'm going to introduce you as a consultant, so don't be surprised,” he told Mae.

“
Ooh, a consultant. That sounds official.” She gave Rob Fuller a sideways glance and he grinned at her. Entering the enormous glass doorway, they found themselves in a marble-floored expanse with a single granite pedestal on which stood a full-sized horse carved in clear Lucite. The animal's mane had been so skillfully done, it almost looked as if it moved in the wind. A spotlight from the ceiling shone down on the magnificent sculpture. On the left side of the marble expanse, Ben saw a bank of elevators, and on the wall, a box listing the names of the faculty and their office numbers.

The dean's office on the fourth floor headed the list. They were waiting for the elevator, and when the doors opened they saw a tall young woman and a large Irish wolfhound. The dog's long toothy jaw opened and it made a feral sound. The men waited respectfully for the girl and the dog to exit before entering the elevator. Mae made a happy noise in her throat and held out her right hand. The huge beast sniffed her hand and then licked it as she smiled. Ben held the elevator for her, with a wink at Rob.

The elevator rose silently to the fourth floor. When they stepped out into a bright open area with large windows and plants at either end, Ben could smell lilies. In front of them were the glass-enclosed offices of the dean. Dory had made the appointment and forwarded the name and drawing of the dead man's face as an email attachment. She asked the dean's secretary to provide any information the college might have about the man to the sheriff. Ben introduced himself, Mae, and Rob to the receptionist who buzzed the dean's secretary.

“
Ms. O'Connell will be right out,” she said. Shortly thereafter, an attractive woman, her high heels clicking on the marble floor, appeared. She had long legs, russet hair arranged in a French twist, and wore a sage-green pantsuit. Her eyes were dark and long-lashed. Although she appeared to be in her late forties, she was very slender and her movements were still graceful.

“
Sheriff Bradley, Miss December, and Detective Fuller?” she asked, and at their nods said, “I'm Ruth O'Connell. The dean will see you now.”

Dean Emmitt Wolfe, DVM, was a long-legged stork of a man in his mid to late sixties with pepper and salt hair and an open countenance. Ben had expected him to be stuffy, but when they were introduced and shook hands, he seemed like a down to earth person.

“
Please come in. Would you like coffee or tea?”

“
Nothing for me,” Mae said with a smile.

Both men wanted coffee, and Ms. O'Connell poured for them. The dean's desk was a huge slab of redwood topped with glass. It contained a built-in computer monitor that disappeared when the Dean pushed a button, and nothing else.

“
You certainly keep a clean desk, Dean Wolfe,” Ben said, gesturing to the open, shiny surface.

“
Yes, the vet school has gone
paperless
,” the dean said. “I'm not sure when the idea was first proposed, but it seems to be working out. I understand you're looking for a man named Web Johnston.”

“
What I'm about to show you now is a photograph,” Ben said, holding out a photograph of the dead man's face.

Dean Wolfe winced. “Yes, that's Web Johnston. He's dead, I take it?”

“
Yes, we found his body in the Little Harpeth River and we've been trying to find out more about him.”

“
I see. Well, I don't know every contract employee for the school, but there was a problem with this guy. He supplied animals for experiments and didn't show at the time he was expected, so we called the campus police. When did he die?”

“
The first week in January,” Detective Fuller said. “We were wondering if he worked for the vet school.”

“
He's not an actual employee of the school. He was paid as a vendor to deliver animals for research studies, specifically dogs for Dr. Weil's lab. They're doing some state of the art work on Canine Leukemia and Parkinson's. If you don't mind, Sheriff, how did Mr. Johnston die? Did he drown?”

“
No. Unfortunately, he was murdered, and we think his death may have been connected to his work supplying pit bull puppies. We're trying to locate his killer.”

Dr. Wolfe was quiet for a moment. “I hope that whoever killed Mr. Johnston had nothing to do with the vet school. I know Dr. Weil well, and he certainly would not have been involved in a violent crime. I would appreciate you calling me when you know more. If someone from the faculty or staff was involved in Mr. Johnston's death, it would reverberate through every department.”

“
I will,” the sheriff said. “Please keep the information I just shared with you about the murder confidential. We need to meet with Dr. Weil as a first step. Could you direct us to that laboratory?” Despite the dean's disclaimer about Dr. Weil, Ben felt his optimism quicken. He caught Rob's eye. They were finally about to learn something about the place where Web Johnston worked. Ben hoped it would lead to his killer.

“
Ms. O'Connell will take you down there. His lab is at the back of the building, near the loading zone. It's a maze down there. Goodbye.” He gave Mae a twinkly smile. “Lady and gentlemen. I'm wanted in surgery. Good luck.” Dean Wolfe shook hands with Ben again.

Ben thanked the dean and Mae and Rob, and he followed the Dean's secretary to the elevator area. One elevator was labeled “Large Animals,” and when it opened, they saw a burly man holding a German shepherd puppy.

“
Ruth, is the dean coming down?” he asked. “He's supposed to be in surgery to fix this guy's leg.”

“
As soon as I take them to Dr. Weil's lab, I'll make sure he appears,” Ruth O'Connell said.

“
Yes, ma'am,” the man said. The elevator doors slid shut.

“
It's interesting working here, I bet,” Mae said.

“
It sure is,” Ruth said, smiling. “Last week we actually had a yak in the large animal elevator.”

When they reached the first floor and began walking down the corridor toward the back of the building, Ben noticed that every wall had large framed photographs of people with their pets.