Blue Steele - Box Set - Captures 1-6 by Donald Wells Read Free Book Online Page A

At first, she seemed reluctant to let us talk with the staff, but after Gary poured on the charm, she was ready to give us a tour.
    I left Gary alone with her to keep her busy, while I talked with the caregiver who had shown Tommy around. Her name was LaShonda Miller and she had a gold cross pinned to her sweater.
    “It was Mr. Geary who had the hundredth birthday, but honestly, Mr. Hayes seemed more interested in Mr. Blaine; he talked to him for hours that day.”
    “Who’s Mr. Blaine?”
    “Andrew Blaine, he’s eighty-eight and suffering from Alzheimer’s, he’s in the early stages though, so he has good days now and then, it helped him find Jesus, that’s one good thing that came out of it.”
    “Is today a good day or a bad day?”
    LaShonda smiled. “Let’s find out.”
    ***
    A ndrew Blaine was lying in bed wearing a robe. In a corner of the room, a TV was playing religious programming. And thankfully, he was having a good day.
    “Tommy Hayes, Lord yes I remember him, good boy, and I swear he’s the spittin’ image of my kid brother Albert, only Albert died years ago, in Korea.”
    “What did you two talk about sir?”
    “Not to be disrespectful ma’am, but that’s between me and Tommy, but don’t worry, once he writes his story, the whole world will know.”
    I told him about Tommy then, and he seemed to shrink inside himself. A moment later, he mumbled something.
    “I’m sorry sir, I couldn’t hear you; what did you say?”
    He lifted his head and stared at me with young blue eyes trapped in an ancient face.
    “I said the bastards killed him.”
    “What bastards?”
    Blaine reached over to his bedside table and grabbed a bible.
    “Their day of reckoning has come, sit down missy; I’m about to tell you a story.”
    And he sure did, and when he was done, I was certain I knew who killed Tommy Hayes, and why.
    ***
    W e arrived back in Landsville late in the evening, and then Gary and I spent the night on our laptops doing research.
    Mama got up early as usual and made us breakfast. Over coffee, I filled her in.
    “That son of a bitch! I should get your daddy’s old shotgun and put him in the ground.”
    “Whoa mama, we’ve no proof; it’s just a theory at this point, but once I confront him, we’ll know if he’s guilty or not.”
    “Your sister is being arraigned this morning at nine o’clock; we’ll talk to him then.”
    I shook my head.
    “ I’ll talk to him then. This could be dangerous, and if it is, I don’t want you anywhere around.”
    “I know you’re damn near as tough as your daddy, girl, but get some help, don’t face him alone.”
    “I’ve already thought of that, and I’m waiting for a call back from the sheriff’s department.”
    ***
    W e got to the municipal building at half past eight.
    Sheriff Matt met me in an unoccupied courtroom and I repeated Andrew Blaine’s story to him. When I was finished, he leaned back on the wooden railing of the witness box.
    “Doc and the mayor, bank robbers?”
    “Actually, it was an armored car. The heist took place just outside of El Paso, in 1953.”
    “And this Blaine, he claims to be one of the gang that Doc and Emma were a part of?”
    “Yes, he and another man, it was the other man that planned the heist. Andrew Blaine was Emma Cole’s boyfriend, of course, back then she was Emma Jameson. Emma, Doc, Blaine and another man robbed over two hundred thousand dollars that day; they also killed the three guards inside the truck.”
    “This fourth perp, any idea who he was?”
    “Yes, Blaine says he was the brains behind the heist, and also the reason it worked so well.”
    “How do you mean?”
    “The other man was a deputy sheriff; he flagged down the armored car by using his siren, and when the driver lowered the window to talk to him, he shot him in the face. After that, Doc and Emma blocked the front, and with the patrol car blocking the rear, the remaining guards had nowhere to go.”
    Sheriff Matt got off the