Sequestered with the Murderers by Dr. Tanner (books for 8th graders TXT) 📕

“Vett, are you okay. You seem worn out compared to earlier.”

“I’m okay. I just need to get this conversation with Jackson over with.”

I walked back to my office, then paced back and forth across the room five times.

“The hell with it. I’m going to give Jackson a piece of my mind,” I shouted. I punched in his number as I sat at my desk. He picked up on the first ring.

“Hello.”

“Jackson, it’s Vett.”

“Hi, Vett. How are you?”

“Not so good, Jackson. I’m quite upset with you. I expected our handshake agreement to be a matter of integrity and truth.”

Jackson became quiet, then he said, “I can tell you are upset, but our handshake agreement was based on integrity and truth.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me the real reason you hired me?”

“I hired you to investigate Duffy’s murder—to find out who murdered Duffy.”

“At the beginning of my investigation, why did you tell Lemmonee to make sure I spoke with Armie Bledsoe?” This was a leading question. I didn’t know for sure that he had done this.

“Because Armie and Duffy were good friends.”

“Even now, you are not truthful. The number one reason you hired me is to find out if Armie Bledsoe, the number one suspect in the murder of Diantha Lloyd, actually committed the murder. You knew the Lacecap Hydrangea Murders would once again become a media circus once the connection to Duffy became known. And the media, this time, might get a hold of Armie’s name as the number one suspect in Diantha’s murder. A number one suspect that works for Brightness Bus Tours, which would not look good for the company. You didn’t care about Duffy. You knew Duffy didn’t murder Diantha. Why couldn’t you tell me this?”

“Vett, I’m sorry. I was looking out for my company.”

“I’ve never had someone ask for my help, then lie to me—not trust me.”

“I’m sorry. I never meant to do that.”

“Why didn’t you just fire Armie when you found out?”

“I had no reason to do so. He was a model employee. I couldn’t use the reason that he is a number one suspect in a murder case. I was not supposed to know this. Plus, as you probably know, he has on retainer a lawyer that is supposed to be very good at what he does.”

“I see. Well, let me give you one piece of advice. If you ever hire a private detective again, hire one you trust and provide the truth. It will speed up the process.”

“I trust you. It’s just that I owe loyalty to someone else in this matter.”

“Yeah, I know, the person who told you that Armie is the number one murder suspect.”

“I hope because of our agreement you will keep that information private,” Jackson said.

“I will as long as you reciprocate.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to hold up to my end of our agreement and give you the information you hired me to find. I ask that you keep this information to yourself until 5:00 pm tomorrow, Friday.”

“Vett, this is not an issue. I agree to do this.”

“Armie Bledsoe did murdered Diantha Lloyd. The Envyton County authorities have what they need to arrest him. Tomorrow he will be arrested. You should not have any contact with him between now and 5:00 pm tomorrow.”

“I see. I can promise not to have any contact with him at all. This information is not what I wanted to hear. Whether you believe me or not, I truly wanted him to be innocent. This does sadden me quite a bit. So he had nothing to do with Duffy’s murder?”

“Duffy’s murder was committed by Holt Pruitt, Jr, Carolyn Broadbent, Gwen Sonnack, Whirley Lloyd, and accomplice Sybil Lloyd and Joe McClain. Carolyn and Gwen are Ms. Lacecap’s sisters.”

“Her what! Did you say her sisters?”

“Yes.”

“But Duffy didn’t recognize them, did he?”

“I am ninety-nine percent sure he didn’t. I say this because Nancy said Duffy didn’t mention them to her, and he normally tells her about people he find worthy of note on his trips. His first wife’s aunts on one of his trips would have been interesting news. Especially since he knew that family thinks he was involved in the murder of their loved ones.”

“I don’t know, Vett. It’s probably only been ten years since he saw them last. That’s not a lot of time to forget what someone looks like.”

“Carolyn and Gwen wore heavy makeup and wigs on the trip. Carolyn wore glasses that she didn’t need. Carolyn told me she and Gwen didn’t have any conversations with Duffy. This makes sense to me now. They went out of their way to avoid Duffy. I hardly recognized Carolyn when I met with her. Without the wig and heavy makeup, she was a totally different person. Take my word for it. Duffy didn’t recognize them.”

“Yeah, you’re right. He probably didn’t. So how could all these people have committed the murder?” Jackson asked. “Oh my God, are you saying my passengers were sequestered on the bus with the murderers?”

“Yes, they were. Joe McClain and Sybil Lloyd didn’t shoot Duffy, but the others did.”

“Four people shot Duffy? The autopsy said Duffy was shot seven times.”

“He was. I’ll tell you how it happened. First, I must tell you that Holt Pruitt, Jr. is the father of Diantha Lloyd. Please don’t ask me how I know this. There is proof. I’ll tell you how the murder went down. I’m just not sure how many shots Whirley and Holt Junior fired or what order the murderers fired their shot. My conclusion is this: Whirley Lloyd was waiting in the maintenance room. When Duffy walked by the maintenance room, Holt Junior and Joe quickly pushed him in. Whirley quickly covered his mouth and nose with a mask of nitrous oxide. Holt Junior came into the room as Duffy was pushed in and quickly covered the front of Duffy in plastic that Whirley had brought in when he came in. Joe stood outside