Part 7 (2/2)
”What about other businesspeople? What did they think of him?”
”Some respected him. Others got rubbed the wrong way.”
”And you? Did you ever do business with Weston?”
”Only to take care of your well. I would rather have hired Jake Brunelle, but Mr. Colton, the seller, insisted on calling Weston to do the job. And since he was paying, I wasn't in a position to argue.”
”That's the only time you dealt with him? Weston never used your services as a real-estate agent?”
”He was more interested in taking over other business than in buying property.”
”But he must have bought a house when he moved into town. Didn't he use you to-”
”He built his house on land he had purchased decades earlier,” Alice interrupted. ”I wasn't an agent then, but if I had been, he'd have been out of luck. It would have been a cold day in h.e.l.l before I signed any piece of paper that had Allen Weston's name on it.”
”That's a pretty strong sentiment,” Nick noted.
”Allen Weston wasn't known for his fairness and honesty,” Alice said bluntly. ”I worked hard to build my business. I wouldn't want his reputation to rub off onto me.”
”Reputation? So Weston had dealings with other people in town?” asked Nick.
”Yes, but I'd rather not implicate anyone by mentioning names.”
”No need. We understand you wis.h.i.+ng to protect their privacy.”
”Although,” Alice's pale eyes sparkled with new life, ”it's no secret that Weston's employees didn't think much of him.”
”Oh?” Stella leaned back in her chair, confident that her one-syllable response would spur Alice onward.
”Apparently, he cut their wages-which you might expect in the middle of winter, when the well and septic businesses were slow, but he did this right in the middle of summer. Summer! And then there's that whole Josh Middleton business.”
”Josh Middleton?” Nick inserted on cue.
”He worked for Speedy Septic. Young kid with a criminal background, which is pretty much what you'd expect of someone who pumps out tanks for a living.”
During the course of her and Nick's home search, Stella had come to think very highly of Alice. But the narrow-minded remark about Josh Middleton's criminal background spurred Stella to consider that the real-estate agent might have a darker side. ”Are you suggesting that Middleton might have been involved in Weston's death?”
”I'm not suggesting anything, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he was involved somehow. Weston had Middleton arrested a few weeks back for stealing a truck. Middleton's out on bail now, awaiting trial. If convicted, he'll get two years in prison for breaking parole.”
”I could see where Middleton would be angry with Weston, but if he stole the truck-”
”But he didn't steal it. At least that's what he claims. He said Weston let him borrow it in order to meet his parole officer the next morning.”
”Where was the truck when the police tracked it down?” Nick inquired.
”Parked outside Middleton's mother's trailer. He lives with her.”
”That's a pretty stupid thing to do, wouldn't you say?”
”What, park a stolen truck outside your house? I wouldn't do it.”
”Nor would most moderately intelligent people. So, would you describe Middleton as being none too bright?”
”No, not at all. If anything, he's one of the smartest guys Weston had working for him.”
”Then I'm more inclined to believe Middleton's story than Weston's. We're talking about a septic truck here, not a Corvette. I could see Middleton taking a septic truck out for a joy ride or to play a prank, but if he's smart-and we're a.s.suming he is-he would have taken it back to the shop afterward. I mean, what else is he going to do with it? Go trolling for girls?”
”Eww,” was Stella's only comment.
”Exactly. The simple fact that it was parked outside his mother's house-er, trailer-supports his story. He wouldn't have brought the truck there; he'd have known that was the first place the cops would look.”
”Middleton's mother believes his story too,” Alice told them. ”She's the one who raised the bail money, though I'm not sure how. She barely sc.r.a.pes by as it is; without her son's income, I don't know what she'll do.”
”So not only did Weston's theft charge threaten to send Josh Middleton to prison, but it caused his mother financial hards.h.i.+p,” Stella summarized.
”Can we say motive, boys and girls?” Nick sang.
”I know I can,” Stella said. ”The question, however, is whether Middleton is the type to commit murder. I know you said he has a criminal background, Alice. What was he arrested for?”
”I don't remember-drugs of some kind. Does it matter, really?”
”Yes, it does. There's a big difference between being caught with a bag of pot and killing a person in cold blood.”
”According to you, perhaps. But what about Weston's truck missing from the murder scene? Sounds like a calling card from Middleton, if you ask me.”
”You think he killed Weston and took the truck as a”-Stella struggled to find the appropriate words-”thumb-to-the-nose sort of gesture?”
Alice's face registered bewilderment.
”What my wife means,” Nick interpreted, ”is that taking Weston's truck from the scene was Middleton's way of saying 'screw you for accusing me of stealing your truck, you filthy rotten-'”
”Nick!”
”Yes,” Alice affirmed. ”That's precisely what I think he did.”
”And you don't think there could be another explanation?”
”Maybe, but if it weren't Middleton, it was another one of Weston's employees.” She raised a stubby finger. ”Mark my words: whoever b.u.mped off Weston plotted it right under his very nose.”
CHAPTER.
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