Final Cycle by Elaine Orr

Author:Elaine Orr [Orr, Elaine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781948070164
Publisher: Lifelong Dreams Publishing
Published: 2018-12-22T22:00:00+00:00

BY NINE O'CLOCK THURSDAY MORNING, they had divvied up interviews, but Elizabeth didn't expect to learn anything from talking to Stanley's acquaintances. At best maybe they could identify the low lifes he'd mentioned to his son.

"Mahan," Elizabeth said, "you talked to the woman who found him."

He nodded. "Very upset. Kept saying how nice he was. She didn't see anyone else in the parking lot." He consulted his notes. "Before the EMTs got there of course. So he was on his stomach, head turned to the right."

"And no movement of any kind?" Elizabeth asked.

"No. She noticed the blood stains, from where he maybe tried to crawl a couple feet. That upset her the most. You can't really understand her when she talks about that."

"Damn shame," Hammer said.

"I want to talk to Finn Clancy again," Calderone said. "They both went to the laundromat."

"We need a reason besides Clancy's a creep who hung out at the laundromat," Elizabeth said.

"Good enough for me," Mahan muttered.

"I don't want him accusing us of harassment. He'd love for Jerry Pew to do a story on that. But," Elizabeth nodded toward Calderone, "ask him if he noticed anything around town about the time Stanley was killed. Tell him we're asking because he's out and about a lot."

"Where does he sleep?" Hammer asked.

"Sometimes the Mission," Calderone said. "When it's cold. When the campground outside of town is open, he pitches a tent there a lot."

"Where does he get money for that?" Elizabeth asked.

Calderone shrugged. "How much is it?"

"I think it's at least $15 for a tent spot," Hammer said. "For $450 a month he could get a room in one of those old motels that pretend they're apartments now."

"Is he on some kind of disability?" Elizabeth asked.

"For what?" Mahan asked. "They don't give disability income for being lazy."

"Maybe depression," Elizabeth said. "Seems someone who chooses his lifestyle might be. I don't suppose you can just call social services without a warrant."

"I'll ask around," Calderone said. "He has to have money from somewhere. He doesn’t beg on the corners."

"He plays a lot of pool," Hammer said. "Those guys all bet with each other. Maybe he wins."

Mahan said, "Hard to imagine. I stopped at the grocery store. Employees who saw Stanley last night aren't there this morning. Manager wouldn't give me phone numbers, but he's giving them my cell number."

"Jeez," Elizabeth said. "Why the hell not?"

"Some company policy about employee privacy. I told him to have them to call me soon. He also said Louella Belle was in there a few weeks ago, wanting him to put up signs on the bulletin board about food allergies. He feels bad he ignored her."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't feel good about solving this. Unless Stanley did have someone's skin under his nails and there's a DNA match. We know how long that'll take."

"Poor old guy," Hammer said. The phone rang and he answered it, then nodded at Elizabeth. "Yes, sir. Just a moment." He put the call on hold. "Dingle."

Calderone and Mahan stood, Hammer handed Elizabeth the phone and the three men walked out.

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