Death Waxed Over - Tim Myers [78]
His hand started to go to his nose, but stopped halfway there. “And you call this proof? The police are convinced Pearly killed Gretel. It could just have easily been him in the clown makeup.”
“Come on, I found the tube you planted under his workbench. Micah’s Ridge isn’t that big. I’m willing to bet there’s a pretty good chance one of the clerks at Party World will be able to identify you. It’s not going to come to that, though, is it? Your fingerprints are going to give you away as Hans Barnett, not Jubal Grant. That’s why you wanted cash today, wasn’t it? It’s the same reason Jubal Grant didn’t get anything in Gretel’s will; he doesn’t exist.”
“So what,” the man said. “That still doesn’t prove I killed her. Where’s the gun?”
“You were pretty clever about that, I’ll give you credit there. I’ve got a feeling I know where you stashed it, though.”
“You’re bluffing,” Hans said fiercely.
“Don’t you wish. You see, I noticed something else when I was looking at the video taken on the day of the fair. That cannon had a plug in its barrel that wasn’t there when I set up that morning. You made something to fit, shoved the gun in during the confusion and capped it with your homemade plug just in case you were stopped. It was pretty clever of you. Did you plan to retrieve it on your way out of town?”
Instead of replying, I finally saw what he was digging for by the register, and I couldn’t believe how stupid I’d been. It was a boning knife, not much of a weapon against the police and their guns, but it was more than I had.
I tried to keep my voice calm as I said, “What are you going to do with that? If you kill me, the police will come looking for you.”
The man smiled and said, “No, I believe they’ll come looking for Jubal, and the second I walk out that door, he’s not going to exist anymore.”
“You’ll have to kill both of us,” Pearly said as he came out of the backroom.
I don’t know who was more surprised to see him, Hans or me. As the knife wavered in his hand, he said, “How did you get back there?”
“You really should lock your rear exit,” he said.
“It was locked.”
Pearly smiled and joined me at the front door. “But not deadbolted. I managed to force the lock with a screwdriver and come in.”
“But how did you know?” I asked.
“I’ve been following you for the last two days. I knew if anyone figured this mess out, it would be you.” He turned to Hans and said, “There’s no way you’re going to get both of us.”
Hans considered doing just that, then he bolted for the back. I started after him but Pearly grabbed my arm. In a minute I knew why. We walked to the back of the shop and I saw Morton slapping the handcuffs on the murderer.
“You’re here, too,” I asked. “What happened to Vince?”
“I figured he was safe enough locked up in a cell. Pearly waved me down in the street a few minutes ago and I almost ran him over. If I hadn’t heard it out of this guy’s mouth himself, I still probably wouldn’t have believed it.”
“He wanted to arrest me, but I insisted he come with me first,” Pearly said with a smile. “As soon as I heard what you two were discussing, I ducked out for assistance.”
“Let’s go,” Morton said to Hans. “We’ll go out the front way this time.”
Hans said, “Surely you don’t believe any of this.”
“Let’s just say I’m willing to pursue it long enough to find out who you really are.”
Hans shook his head in disgust. He knew he was caught.
I had to add, “If you hadn’t been greedy wanting to sell those supplies, I wouldn’t have put it all together until it was too late. Think about that when you’re rotting away in jail for murder.”
He lunged at me then, but Morton had a good hold on the cuffs and jerked him back.
The sheriff looked at me and said, “Now, Harrison, what have I told you in the past? Don’t poke the bear. Listen, hang around a minute until I can get a black-and-white over here.”
After they were gone, Pearly said,