It was the same place where Barney had gone fishing on his last day on earth.
One sure way to dislodge Shirley from her seat of power would be to take the same route Tony had, soaring out over the thirty-five foot drop-off, hoping I’d survive the fall. Shirley Hesss would leave the truck whether she wanted to or not, and she’d take a solo dive into the rocky river below.
Had Tony died from head injuries or had he drowned? That would be good to know before I attempted the plunge.
“Pull over on the other side of the bridge,” Shirley said from the back as we drew near.
An investigator has to be quick on her feet. Decisions have to be made in split seconds, even the life-or-death ones, which don’t always wait for a convenient time. I aimed at the broken railing with sweat streaming down my temples and cold fear clutching my heart.
If only Barney would give me a sign, tell me if I was making a big mistake. But he kept silent, leaving me to make my own way.
Shirley realized what I was up to. A glance in the rearview mirror showed her startled face craning to see over the top of the truck. My driving skills were questionable on a good day, and this wasn’t a good day. Could I pull it off?
Inches from the edge of the ledge, I jerked the steering wheel back toward the road and closed my eyes. One little misjudgment and the truck would go over sideways.
When I opened them, I was heading for the other side of the bridge. I had overcorrected and was now in jeopardy of going over the other side. I jammed the steering wheel the other way, pounding the brakes. Wheels screeched, I screamed, the truck skidded back the other way, its front bumper breaking through the railing on the same side as Tony’s last launch, but in a new section a little farther down. The truck lurched to a stop with one of the front tires over the edge.
It was the first chance I’d had to look in the back of the truck.
No Shirley.
I couldn’t bring myself to look down into the abyss. Fear had frozen my body. A moan escaped from this steely investigator’s throat, and I was relieved that no one was around to hear me, because I sounded more animalistic than human.
Did I mention that the river is way, way, way down below? And that I was at a quandary again? If I got out of this alive, I didn’t want to make another decision for a very long time. The question that had to be answered was this-should I slip the truck into reverse and try to back off the ledge onto the road? Or should I ease my body out? Would my shifting weight tip the truck over the edge?
I chose the second option, after working on my paralysis, moving my neck, then my arms. The package had landed next to me, but my purse was too far over to risk a reach. I didn’t even turn the ignition off, just slid out with as little motion as possible. The truck held its position until I forgot to be careful in my relief to be on firm footing. I slammed the door. That little bitty slam caused Walter’s truck to inch forward in what seemed like slow, groaning reluctant motion – like it had a mind of its own and didn’t appreciate the direction is was taking.
Then the truck disappeared over the side of the road, flipping as it went. The noise when it hit the water was like the thunder of an ancient timber tree crashing to earth. A tremor ran through the road beneath my feet.
I couldn’t see Shirley anywhere down there in the swirling rapids. What if the truck had fallen directly on her? Wouldn’t that be awful?
Before I could get too upset over that image, I heard her voice calling for help from the opposite side of the road. She’d managed to grab a clump of brush when she ejected from the truck, but she was dangling in a dangerous position.
Right where I wanted her.
“Help me up,” she croaked, trying to get leverage on her own.
“I’ll help you after you answer a few questions,” I said, watching her struggle. “If I don’t like the answers, you’ll have to let go and take your chances, because this way will be closed off to you.”
A car drove toward the bridge. I leaned against the rail like a tourist and waved as it passed. The driver waved back and kept going.
“I can’t hold on much longer.”
“Than you better make your answers fast and truthful. First question, who’s responsible for stealing the credit union money?” I glared at her.
“Tony stole the money and gave it to me for safekeeping. He wanted to run away with me. I’m going to fall.”
“I’m already tired of asking questions. Why don’t you tell me the whole thing?”
Shirley chanced a peek below and decided to cooperate. “We knew someone would catch on to the missing money eventually, so Tony thought we should set up a fake bank robbery. The robber would get away since I was working inside, and that would explain the disappearing funds. We’d be home free.”
“But you’re the one who sounded the alarm.”
Shirley didn’t look too comfortable. She’d managed to find a toe hold, though. The bush she clung to seemed to be supporting her weight. The river roared and bucked below.
“Let me up. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Keep talking.” Neither of us had a weapon, but she was younger and stronger. I didn’t want to get physical with her, because I’d lose. Better that she stay right where she was.
“Tony was a fool,” she said “I didn’t want him.” She struggled a little, trying to change her position. Her arms had to be getting tired, because her words came faster. “I set it up with the Orange Gang and told them where to find the biggest bills in the vault. They didn’t have a clue that they were stealing worthless paper. Tony made sure it was in perfect position.”
“Then you turned on your partners, all of them, even Tony? You wanted the missing money discovered to get rid of Tony?”
“Only he caught on and came after me.”
“Why did Bob kill Kent?”
“That wasn’t part of the plan. No one was supposed to die.”
“But Bob panicked.”
“I’m getting cramps in my hands.”
“Who killed Bob? Did Tony?”
“Yes,” she said, but I could see the lie in her eyes.
I picked up a stone the size of a quarter and aimed at her head.
“Okay, I did,” she said, catching my intent. Where was my tape recorder when I needed it? “Bob wanted a bigger cut of the money after he killed Kent. He became a serious liability.”
Unbelievable! This woman had set-up a real robbery and a fake one, with the intention of leaving all her partners in crime for the lynch mob-Tony, Bob, and Kent.
“You killed Tony?”
“He found out what I was up to. He broke into my house. It was him or me.”
I shook my head. Maybe I should let her take her chances in the Escanaba River. My Barney hadn’t deserved to die at its hands, but I didn’t feel the same conviction about her. The woman was pure evil.
“Who attacked the trailer and hurt Kitty?” I wanted to know.
“That wasn’t me.” She said it like that made all the difference in the world. At long last there was a malicious, violent act that couldn’t be attributed to Shirley. “That was the Orange Gang.”
“Why would the gang care about us? The Trouble Busters weren’t involved.”
She did that eye thing again.
“You told them we had the money,” I said “Didn’t you?”
Shirley didn’t answer, but I knew I was right. I watched another car approaching, kicking dust up in its wake. I would flag it down and ask for help. I stared down at the package of money, before moving back and letting Shirley struggle up. I had a fistful of small stones in my other hand in case she came at me.
“You’re going to tell the truth when it comes time,” I said. “No more lies.”
She looked down the road. “Oh Gawd,” she said, staring in terror at the oncoming car. When my eyes darted to see what was up, she broke into a run heading in the opposite direction. Even with my running shoes on, I wouldn’t catch her. But I had a plausible story and the package of money that had been delivered under her name. That didn’t seem like as much evidence as I’d originally thought it was, but it was better than nothing.