CHAPTER TWELVE
Beau Camp opened the front door with a cheery smile on his face, and then seemed surprised to see the two officers. "I thought it was my wife, she's always losing her key," he said as he opened the door wider. "Come in, I'm expecting her home any minute now." Beau motioned for them to enter. "She played bingo last night. When the games run long, she stays at her girlfriend's house."
"Beau, we have some bad news I’m afraid." Det. Miller began.
Making their way to the couch, they all sat down. Staring at the floor like a child who had been caught swiping cookies from the cookie jar; Beau sensed something wasn’t right and started cracking his knuckles.
Miller adjusted his tie and tugged at his collar before he spoke, for he had never had to relay this type of news before. "Your wife Martha was slain last night. Her body was found at the North Side Park early this morning."
Beau fell forward and collapsed onto the carpet. Officer Hendrix rushed to help him but was stopped by Det. Miller. "He'll be okay, let him be," he whispered. She stepped back and watched him as he lay face down on the floor.
After several minutes, he sat up and rubbed his forehead. "I'm alright," he mumbled, "You gave me quite a shock. I thought you said my wife was murdered..."
"Yes…I did. Are you sure you'll be okay? We'll drive you over to see Doc Otis if you'd like," Det. Miller offered.
"Ah…no, it's not necessary…how did it happen?" Beau asked as the news slowly started to sink in.
"We won't know until the autopsy report and our investigation is completed. It looks like she may have been beaten to death with a hammer. Do you feel up to answering a few questions?"
"What? Ah…I guess so. I'm still light headed, but I'll be okay. Did you say it happened at Darnell’s farm?" Beau asked.
The two officers exchanged glances. "No, I said the North Side Park. Was your wife at Darnell’s farm last night?" Miller inquired.
"I'm not sure. She left here to go play bingo and never came home."
"When was the last time you saw her?" Miller asked.
"After supper I helped her with the dishes. She changed clothes and went out. She said that she was feeling lucky and not to wait up," he answered.
"What time did she leave the house?" Miller asked.
"It was around six, I think."
"The bingo hall doesn't open until eight. Why’d she leave so early?"
"She always walked to her friend's house and rode with her to the hall."
"What's her friend's name?" Officer Hendrix asked him as she continued to write down his statements.
"Terri Helms," Beau responded.
"How long has this been her routine?" she continued.
Beau thought for a moment as he still sat on the floor. "She's been riding with Terri for about two months, every Monday night."
"When she was out, what did you do on Monday nights?" Det. Miller asked.
"Recently I’ve been attending Miss Stella's séances." The officers again glanced at one another as he continued, "I thought it'd help me relax after mother died. I had problems with my nerves. Miss Stella starts her séance at seven o’clock every Monday night," he said.
"At what time is the séance over?" Officer Hendrix asked as she turned her notebook page over.
"It's over by eight most of the time, but we sit and visit in her kitchen for a while, drinking coffee and chit-chatting. I always have decaf."
"Why'd you ask if your wife was at Darnell’s farm?" Hendrix asked.
Beau got up from the floor and sat on the couch. Leaning forward he started cracking his knuckles as he finally looked at Det. Miller. "I know you're aware of Miss Stella's psychic powers, and I know you're married to her sister, Nancy. That's why I'm comfortable in telling you about this," he stated, still cracking his knuckles. "Last night at the séance, I had an out-of-body experience in which I witnessed a man kicking a woman that was tangled up in a fence at Sonny Darnell's farm." The two officers sat in silence as he continued, "I saw Johnny Hudson stomping her. When I mentioned it to Miss Stella, she consulted her crystal ball. She said she saw more murders and I was in danger," he spoke softly.
“So you saw Johnny Hudson kill a woman in your dream, is that correct?” Sherry asked as she was still making notes.
“No, not in a dream…it was an ‘out-of-body’ experience.” He said in a defensive tone.
“Did you recognize the woman?” Miller asked.
“No, no I didn’t.”
Sherry continues, “So you’re outside of your body and you just happen to be walking by Sonny’s farm and…”
“I wasn’t walking; I was floating high overhead when I saw Johnny kill someone.”
Beau’s voice was clearly agitated now.
“Someone?” Sherry repeats,
“Now you’re not sure if it was a man or a woman, is that what you’re saying?”
“Stop trying to twist my words! You’re trying to make me sound nuts! I’m not nuts!”
Miller interrupts, “Beau, no one is accusing you of being crazy, so just simmer down, alright?”
“Well, okay, but you tell Miss Snooty here to stop messing with me than.” His eyes narrowed as he stared at Officer Hendrix.
As Miller motioned for her to sit back, he decided to change the discussion and head it into another, less upsetting direction. "Have you fully recovered from your mother's passing?"
"Ah…yes." Beau replied softly nodding his head.
"Do you think the death of your wife could bring on another breakdown?" Miller asked as he studied his facial expressions and tried to observe his body language.
"No…well maybe…well no, I don't think so…oh who knows," Beau said shaking his head first from side-to-side, then up-and-down, then shrugging his shoulders as he ran his fingers nervously through his hair.
"Do you still hear your mother's voice?" Miller asked.
"No…not anymore, I'm hearing a man's voice now. He's a lot stronger than mother, and he prevents her from bothering me." He then inhaled a deep breath and puffed his chest out, and with a smirk on his face, "He told me his name, and I have to laugh because he calls me the Admiral. Isn't that funny?" Beau giggled and again ran his fingers nervously through his hair.
"Yes, that's funny alright. Do you remember what your wife was wearing when she went out last night?" Miller decided he’d try and placate him as he fished for more information.
"Let me think about that. I'll get back with you later on her clothes."
"Did you notice if she carried her purse?" Officer Hendrix queried.
"Oh, yes…she's as bad as the Queen of England. She takes her purse everywhere she goes. She'd die if she didn't have her purse," Beau answered scratching his left forearm.
"May I use your bathroom? I had a gallon of coffee this morning and its running right through me," Officer Hendrix politely asked.
"Sure, go through the kitchen, it’s the door on the left," he said pointing.
Entering the bathroom, she looked into the medicine cabinet and then raised the lid on the dirty clothes hamper. Lying on top was Beau's blood stained shirt, the one that he wiped his hands on after touching the bloody boot in the street. She laid the shirt aside and sorted through the rest of the hamper. She found nothing else that was suspicious. Returning to the living room with the blood stained shirt, she handed it to Det. Miller.
"Oh…that's the shirt I had on last night at Miss Stella's," Beau blurted out, "On my way home I found a bloody boot in the street, and I got sticky blood on my hands. I wiped them on my shirt, but don't worry, I know how to remove blood from clothes. You soak them in hydrogen peroxide," he added and started cracking his knuckles again.
"How long have you been cracking your knuckles?" Officer Hendrix asked.
Beau held his hands out in front of him and examined them. Looking at Det. Miller, "What's wrong with her? I've never cracked my knuckles in my life. Is she trying to start trouble again?" he said with a skeptical eye on her.
Miller ignored his question, "I understand you and your wife had separated for a time, and that you recently got back together. Would that be an accurate statement?"
"Yes, for a short time she left me, but she came back. She said that she was in love with someone else." He said sheepishly.
"It didn't work out for her?" Miller inquired with no negative overtones in his voice.
"I guess not." Beau answered cracking his knuckles. He began to have a nervous tic; his right cheek began to twitch uncontrollably.
"Who was the other man, if you don’t mind saying?" Officer Hendrix asked.
"I don't know, she never told me. I was just happy that she came back to me."
"Do you own a gun?" Miller probed as he pulled a pack of Camels from his shirt pocket.
"Nope, I don't, and please, don’t smoke in here." He said dryly.
"We'll take your shirt with us, and later today someone will drive you to the coroner's office to identify your wife's body." Miller said putting the pack of cigarettes back as they prepared to leave.
"Hey thanks, but you don't have to clean my shirt. I'll soak it myself." Beau said reaching for it.
"That's okay, we'll take good care of it," Miller said turning away from Beau. They excused themselves and left. They slipped into the cruiser. Miller drew a Camel from his shirt pocket and lit up as he surveyed the time on his pocket watch. Sherry entertained him with another hair-raisin' ride across town.
When they stopped in front of the Municipal Building Det. Miller got out. "Take the cruiser to the gas station and air up the back left tire, its low."
"Yes sir, right away sir," she responded as she sped away.
Det. Miller put Beau’s bloody shirt on his desk before going to see the Chief. As he entered Chief Hudson’s office, the Chief waved his hand for silence as he continued to listen on his telephone, "You're certain she's dead? Don't touch anything. Keep everyone out of the crime scene area. We'll be there right away. What'd you say your name …hello…damn, he hung up. Miller, gather your men and equipment. Another dead woman just turned up."
"You’re joking, who?" Det. Miller was surprised.
"It looks like some woman tangled with a bull at Darnell's farm and was gored to death," the Chief said.
Miller gave the Chief a bewildered stare, "Did you say, Darnell's farm?"