Collins came up beside him. “Hello, Buck. What are you doing here?”
Buck James jerked around, jaw sagging. He forced a grin. “It’s the inspector. I might ask the same of you.”
“I asked you first.”
“Oh, I had a few days free. I thought I’d visit old scenes, and all that. Just curiosity, you might say.”
Collins snapped a handcuff on James’ left wrist. James jerked back only to bump into Phelps, who seized his right arm and held it while Collins snapped on the other handcuff.
The young man looked at his bonds in injured innocence. “What’s the meaning of this? Can’t a man take a hike without being loaded with gyves?”
“You’re something in the nature of a special case,” said Collins. “You’re under arrest. The charge — murder of Earl Genneman, Steve Ricks and Molly Wilkerson.”
Buck James swallowed. “You’re not serious?”
“Do you think I got up this morning at six o’clock for fun? Before we start back to Fresno, I better look you over. A man of your talents might be concealing an A-bomb or something.”
But Buck carried nothing but a hunting knife. Collins appropriated it.
Buck’s voice broke slightly. “You make these fantastic charges, without rhyme or reason. Without proof.”
“I think the photographs of you climbing down the hill after that shotgun will convince most jurors.
What did you do with it, bury it? We’ll dig it up. Into the car with you. Where are the keys?”
“On the floor under the mat.” Buck James thoughtfully climbed into the back seat. Collins got in beside him. Phelps drove.
“This is fantastic,” said Buck. “How in the world could I shoot Earl? I was the last in line; the shot came from the trees.”
“I’ll tell you how you could shoot Earl. All you needed was some strong cord, two clothespins, a shotgun, and a boulder weighing fifty pounds or so. I’ve found all but the boulder.
“You drove up here early Wednesday, hiked in until you found a place where your scheme would work. One clothespin held the other open, with the jaws clamping the trigger and trigger guard. You wanted to give Earl both barrels, so you connected the triggers and locked them together. Then you led one line to the trail and arranged it so you could give it a quick yank. This yank would snap off the first clothespin; the second clothespin would jerk the trigger; Earl would have his head blown off. Another line ran back and over the slope, where it was tied to the boulder. The gun was supported on a branch, maybe weighted down. When it went off, it shot apart a cord holding the boulder, which pulled the gun and the rest down the mountain. And all you’d had to do was give your string that one yank when Earl stepped into range.”
Buck crouched on the seat. He looked for all the world like a trussed-up wolf.
“Yes, Buck, my boy,” said Collins, “we’ve got you cold. If you turn your head you’ll catch a last glimpse of Copper Creek Trail. Take a good look. You can remember it as you sit in that chair in the gas chamber.”
Chapter 16
On his return to Fresno, Collins telephoned the Gennemans in San Jose. The houseboy answered, and Collins asked to speak to Mrs. Genneman.
“This is Inspector Collins, Mrs. Genneman. I have some news for you. It’s not pleasant.”
“You’ve caught the murderer of my husband.” She was holding herself in tightly.
“Yes. Mr. James.”
“Oh, no,” said Mrs. Genneman. “Not Buck. Not Buck. Are you sure? Really sure?”
“There’s no doubt about it.”
She was silent. Then she said, “Where is he now?”
“In jail.”
“How can I tell Jean? Her world revolves around Buck. He’s been practically a member of the family... I don’t know what I’ll say to Jean.”
“If you like, have her telephone me. I’ll break the news to her.”
“Thank you, Inspector. But I’ll manage — some way.”
At four o’clock Mrs. Genneman and Jean, with Kershaw and Retwig, appeared at the sheriff’s office and asked to speak to Collins. He greeted them with gravity and took them into a waiting room. Mrs. Genneman had been crying; Jean seemed to be ready to blow up.
“Can we see Buck?” demanded Jean. “I want to hear what he has to say. I refuse to believe this ridiculous charge!”
“Miss Genneman, he was caught in the act of retrieving the shotgun. You remember the meeting we had the other evening?”
“Of course I do. And it was inane. You admitted you were all at sea — now this!”
Myron Retwig gave his head a small shake.
Collins said, “The purpose of that meeting was to alarm Buck, make him commit himself. He did. He drove to Cedar Grove, hiked to where your father was killed, climbed down the mountainside, recovered the shotgun, and very carefully buried it. We have the entire thing on film.”
“He was doing it to protect someone else,” stormed Jean. “It’s obvious!”
“Whom was he trying to protect, Miss Genneman?”
Jean bit her lip.
Opal Genneman asked in a wondering voice, “But why should Buck want to kill Earl? It’s senseless. Earl was his benefactor, his future father-in-law...”
“Your husband was too much of a benefactor, Mrs. Genneman. You’ll have to face it. Buck James was and is completely ruthless. He attached himself to Jean because of Mr. Genneman’s wealth, he worked hard to be a good salesman because that was the best way to butter his bread. Unfortunately, Mr. Genneman liked him. He wanted to expand Westco Pharmaceuticals, and Buck James was going to manage the new outlet. His first idea was to start a new branch in Portland, and Buck accepted the post with pleasure. Then Mr. Genneman had an opportunity to buy the Midland Drug Company in Madison, Wisconsin, where Buck James had lived and gone to school.. That changed everything for James. First he tried to edge out of the managership of the new outlet. Mr. Genneman wouldn’t listen. As far as he was concerned the set-up was ideal — his future son-in-law working a territory he knew intimately. Then Buck broke off his engagement with your daughter. Why? What was behind his strange behavior? The answer lies in a letter from the Madison Chief of Police. Buck James is already married to a girl in Madison. Furthermore, he worked for her father, at Wisconsin Mill Products Company, and it’s believed that he embezzled a considerable sum of money. On top of that, his wife is a devout Catholic, so divorce is out.
“Buck found himself in an impossible situation. If he refused the Madison managership pointblank, Mr. Genneman’s suspicions would surely be aroused. I understand that once Mr. Genneman got suspicious, he was singleminded to the point of fanaticism.”
“I’ll vouch for that,” said Kershaw.
“He was a bundle of contradictions,” said Retwig. “Completely generous, absolutely relentless. It was a strain to work for him — too much of a strain.”
Jean Genneman sat glaring at Collins.
“Here we have Buck all set to marry Jean and the Genneman money. Then comes the Westco-Wisconsin dilemma. If he accepts and goes to Madison, his goose is cooked. If he refuses, Earl Genneman will make inquiries to find out why, and Buck’s goose is cooked again. The one way to get what he wanted was to kill Mr. Genneman. After which he can marry Jean, and the new Madison outlet can be quietly fobbed off.
“He decides to kill Mr. Genneman on the backpack trip. In such a way as to give him a built-in alibi.
“Then Steve Ricks got into the act. On the night of Saturday, June 6, Mr. Kershaw here got drunk at the Down Home Cabaret in Ricks’ company. About one in the morning Ricks phoned the Genneman house.