HELL'S HALF ACRE a gripping murder mystery full of twists (Coffin Cove Mysteries Book 2) by JACKIE ELLIOTT (classic literature books .txt) 📗

“Holy shit!” Andi was amazed. “What happened?”

“All those women knew how to use a gun. There were several black eyes and a few women got quite a beating and, well, there were stories of worse — but the men backed off when one of them started firing. It was one of those rare occasions when the cops showed up. Not that they did anything. The cops were afraid of the bikers, mostly, and left them alone. But the women made a complaint, and I guess it forced the cops to follow it up. In the end they tried to charge one woman with disturbing the peace, but when she turned up in court with two black eyes, the judge dismissed the case.”

Andi was so engrossed in Doug’s stories, she’d forgotten to take notes. She leaned forward and pulled her notebook from her purse.

Doug put his hand over hers.

“I don’t mind telling you these stories, but don’t you go putting our names on anything, now. I wouldn’t be happy about that.”

His tone was friendly enough, but his face was hard.

Jim said, “We’re not here to dredge up old stuff, Doug. And nobody’s name will be mentioned. We’re just trying to find out why Ricky Havers disappeared and why and how his remains turned up at that old chapel site.”

Doug released Andi’s hand.

“Can’t see what it has to do with Art Whilley,” he said. “He’s dead now, and Wayne Dagg disappeared. He’s probably dead now too. It’s been peaceful here since Lee moved in. And I’d like to keep it that way.”

“So do you think it’s just coincidence that Ricky’s body was found on Dagg’s land?” Andi asked, opening her notebook with her pen poised, despite Doug’s narrowed eyes.

Doug shrugged. “No idea. Why don’t you ask Dennis?”

“Did Dennis Havers know Art Whilley?” Jim asked. Andi guessed he was thinking about the company documents Sandra had given her.

Doug’s face lost any trace of friendliness. “Dennis hung around with Wayne Dagg,” he said curtly.

Andi was scribbling. “Was Dennis a biker?” she asked.

Doug laughed. “Dennis? No. He was just a bully. He kept all the dirty work at arm’s length. He and Wayne made sure they controlled Art. They even got rid of his only girlfriend.”

“Who was that?” Andi asked.

“Nadine Dagg. Well, Nadine Turner as she was then.”

Jim and Andi stared at him.

“To start with, she was Lee’s girl—” Doug began.

“But she wasn’t . . . let’s say, the loyal type,” Terri interrupted.

Doug nodded. “Back then she was a real looker. She was officially Lee’s girlfriend, but she was a real flirt.”

“Hmm.” Terri glared at Doug.

Doug shifted in his chair. “I only ever had eyes for you.”

“Right.”

“Ok, so what happened?” Andi said hastily, sensing the chilliness.

“You’ve gotta know what Nadine’s like. Even when she was young, she had her eyes on the prize. She liked money.”

“Still does,” agreed Terri.

“And she didn’t care what she did to get it. Lee was an apprentice with his dad and was making a decent living. But Wayne and Art were in a different league. So Nadine starts hanging out with Art, and they hook up. Wayne warns him off because he’s looking out for his little brother. Eventually Nadine went back to Lee. I think it was all too wild, even for her. It was the beginning of the end of Art and Wayne’s . . . association. The fire was shortly after that.”

“Can you tell us about the fire?” Jim asked.

Doug sighed. “It was bad. We were used to fireworks going off at all hours, but we heard an explosion and our house shook. It felt like a propane tank went up. Anyway, I rushed outside, and there’s Art’s cabin on fire. There were bikers all over the place, trying to get out. I . . .” His voice faltered. “I saw Art inside. It was so hot, though. There was no way I could get to him. It burned all night long and the next morning there was nothing but a pile of ash.”

“No fire trucks?” Andi asked.

“No. Back then we were out of the fire protection zone. No fire trucks and no police.”

The room was silent. It wasn’t a pleasant story.

Andi frowned and sucked the end of her pen.

“So how did Wayne come to own the house? Or the land, I suppose?”

“Nobody knows,” Doug said, and he stood up and stretched. “Wayne must have persuaded Art to sign it over, or maybe he bought it, I dunno. But the title was registered in Wayne’s name. All I know is he wasn’t around the night of the fire and nobody’s seen him since. Lee never mentions him, and I don’t ask.”

Andi hesitated for a minute and looked at Jim, wondering how much she could push this. “You know, I do have a couple of questions.”

“Alright, then.” Doug stared at her.

“Did Summer Thompson have anything to do with . . . well . . . any of this?”

“Summer? You bet she did,” Doug answered immediately. “Summer was going with Dennis for a while, before she went out with Daniel Ellis.”

Andi felt a rush of excitement. Her intuition hadn’t let her down.

“She was Dennis’s girlfriend?” Andi repeated, just to make sure she had heard correctly.

“For a while,” Doug said. “But then she started going out with Daniel Ellis.”

Daniel Ellis. That name kept coming up.

“And what happened to Daniel?” Andi asked.

“Dead,” Doug said. “Fishing accident.”

“Was he part of the biker gang?” Jim asked. “Or involved in the drugs?”

Doug shook his head. “He was to start with. But Daniel wasn’t like that. And when he and Summer got together, she didn’t want him to have anything to do with Dennis or drugs. Art didn’t like Summer at all. Daniel was nice to him, not like Wayne, but he never saw