Not In A Million Years

Gordon Chesley's name just kept going through my head....The entire time I was driving home...
I lie in bed next to Sepia staring t the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity and finally Sepia broke through my silence.

"What's eating at you lover?" she said.

"Today, Gus brought me somebody who says they might have seen Freda being abducted." I said.

"What? And you didn't tell me?" she said, now sitting up....

"It was Floyd Dishwater from the church. He was there, he saw Freda that night being abducted."
I said.

"Deacon Dishwater?? What was he doing on the drive and at that time of night?" asked Sepia...I see why he was reluctant to go to the police...They no doubt would have asked the same question
that I had asked and that Sepia had asked.

"He was there..okay...and he saw Freda talking on the phone....probably to you....Then he saw a silver Nissan Xterra drive up..Saw a big hulking fella get out, grope her a bit....There was a fight and he must have hit her and knocked her out and slung her into his vehicle and pulled off." I said.

"Ahhhhh, okay....but how did Deacon Dishwater see all of this? What was he doing down there at damn near four in the morning...as cold as it was?" asked Sepia.

"Look, if I tell you this...don't say nothin okay? Not to Bernadette, Not to Bonita and not to Mabel, Cora- beth, Victoria or Anita...you hear?" I said sternly..

"Oooou what?" said Sepia ,looking like a child now...

"He was in the care with Daisy Miller." I said , all of a sudden feeling very sorry for telling Floyd
Dishwater's business like that.

"The church organist?? Oh my goodness...Miss prissy was gettin her freak on? Hahahahahahaha." laughed my wife.

"Never mind that...He said the guy was driving a Silver Xterra." I said.

"Oh Like Gordon's." she said.

"Gordon?? No....Gordon drives a White Xterra." I said.

"Yeah , but he has a Silver one too.... He was washing it , out in front of his house this morning...Me and Bonita saw him when we were coming from the hair dressers...He asked me if we had any news on Freda...I had to sadly tell him that we've hit a brick wall." said Sepia.

"So he has two Xterras huh....A white one and a Silver one....I didn't know that." I said.

"Oh yeah...He just bought the silver one...He hardly ever drives that one." said Sepia.

"Hmmmm, He had the white one the night we were all in Josies....but he left long before we all did...hmmmmm." I mused.

"Kevin....you don't think......Oh nooooo...Not Gordy...He's not the violent type." said Sepia.

"No...he's not....but Freda did slap him pretty hard and that was embarrassing ." I said , making the same argument Gus had made.

"Gordon?? Nah Kevin...That's just not him..He's such a nice , sweet guy...A bit of a dog sometimes, but that's a lot of men. He wouldn't hurt a fly...Not in a million years." laughed Sepia.

''Yeah...I suppose you're right." I said and I went back to sleep. Still it nagged at me...There were just too many co-incidences all starting to line up. I had to play the hand I was dealt until I had a better hand....I just hoped that I was wrong.

II-

I had Robert Foxworth contact his friend in public records and gather up all of the information he could on one Gordon Alexander Chesley. I had to know...I had to be sure that our friend wasn't involved in this.

I stopped by Josies that afternoon and I spoke to Gus-

"Hey Listen....Whatever Gordon drinks out of ....Bottle or Glass....You get it for me Gus and you bag it.." I said.

"Ohhh, so you've decided to take a look at this guy huh?" said Gus.

"Yeah...It's all I've got....I just want to eliminate him from suspicion." I said.

"Alright kid...I'll do what I can." said Gus.

The next day ,I met with Robert Foxworth and Chance Howard in their office..

"What'cha got counselor?" I asked.

"Well...He has no criminal or arrest record of any kind....He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
Was married to Ruth Williams for six years....it ended in divorce...They have one son, Gordon Jr.
He got a 17 year old girl named Lonette McAllister pregnant shortly after his divorce....She has a son by him named Gordon also. Two years after that child was born, He married another woman
named Ruby Sanders...They have a daughter...Grace....They are also divorced now...It seems he left Alabama right before the child support people were about to catch up with him..." said Chance Howard, Robert's young protege'...An up and coming attorney in his own right.

"Damn...He sounds like you Robert." I laughed, so did Chance Howard, who knew his boss all too well.

"What?How do you figure, I aint got all them babies..." said Robert

"Yeah, but you got two ex-wives and several girlfriends.." I laughed.

"Forget you chump! " he laughed good naturedly.

"So...what else you got?" I asked.

"You know he played football once....Roll Tideeeeee! He was damn good too....He moved up here and set up his business....He'd been doing pretty well....Then....The child support people from Alabama caught up with him!! They been really socking it to him with back payments." said Robert.

"That's it?" I said.

"Yeah...that's it." said Robert Foxworth.

"None of this makes him a kidnapper or a ...a murderer." I said.

"Nah...He's just a regular brother with woman troubles." said Robert.

"Yeah...you oughta know about that." I laughed as I patted Robert on the back and left his office.

I drove to Josie's....As I was pulling into the parking lot...Gordon Chesley and a young woman were getting into his white Nissan Xterra and pulling off.. I walked in and Honey Brown motioned me to the back. There was Gus with a large plastic bag which contained three beer bottles and two drink glasses.

"Here it is kid.....just what you ordered...There's fingerprints on this and DNA....If he's your guy..
this ought to be more than enough." said Gus.

"Thanks Gus." I said and took the evidence and left. I turned it over to Lt. Sissy Van Buren of Homicide.

"Thanks Kevin....If we can pull prints off of here and they match the print we pulled off of the car
that gives us our man...He would have no business being anywhere near this part of her car...but you realize...All that means is that he disabled her car...It doesn't prove he kidnapped her or heaven forbid murdered her...We have no eyewitness to that." she said.

"Yeah....but it's enough right?...Enough to at least shine a light his way right?" I said.

"Oh yes." she assured me.

III-

I did however have an eyewitness....I just couldn't bring him forth. I made a couple of phone calls
after I left police headquarters...Then I drove over to the church and waited. It took about a half hour but Kool Kat and Clerow drove up with Floyd Dishwater!

"Hey Kevin..W-Wh-What is this all about?" he asked.

"I need your help." I said.

"Look man..I can't go before no cops" said Floyd.

"Hey, can't aint in your vocabulary mannn." barked Kool Kat. Clerow cocked his pistol and laughed that toothy grin of his... Floyd looked like he was about to faint.

"There's no need for that Kool Kat...Listen Floyd...If I drive you around and I show you who I think is the guy you saw with Freda...Can you ID him?" I asked.

"Yeah...I told you I've seen this guy before..Thas why I didn't think it was no big thing...I thought he knew the girl.....I've seen this guy in the bar." said Floyd.

"You Have?" I asked.

"Yeah...I just don't know him...I've seen him a half dozen times...Big guy...Nice dresser..." said Floyd...

"Alright look..tomorrow..We gonna come get you...We'll be in another car with tinted windows..
We'll conceal your identity and we'll drive around and you point him out okay?" I said.

"No cops right?" he asked.

"I'm givin you my word...No cops." I said.

"Alright Kevin..I'll show him to you." he said.

"Get a good nights sleep." laughed Kool Kat. Floyd was scared to death of him, I could tell.

"Hey guys...take him home." I said.

They put him in their car and drove off....I drove home.....I drove slowly past Gordon's house...
on a night this cold, he had his window open and the light on....He was buck naked in his kitchen
leaning up against the sink....The young woman, he had brought home from Josies was also naked and on her knees giving him a blowjob....His eyes were closed and his head was leaning back... The girl's head was moving back and forth at a furious rate...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...ouuuuuuuuuuuu....come on gurllllllll...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." He moaned.

I didn't want him to notice my car sitting in front of his house like this. It was 2:30 am...Time for me to go home.....Gordon Chesley?? He was just a normal guy...just like the rest of us...He couldn't have anything to do with this....Him? Not in a million years.

(Conclusion Next!)