The Sequoyah Killings- Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Bailey

“Marissa!” Tim gasped, as he woke up. Once he’d found his bearings, he realized he was back in the queen bed of the Sequoyah Bed and Breakfast. He sat up and tried to remember how he’d gotten here. The last thing he remembered was leaving the diner and running down Main Street. He must have hit his head falling, but he wasn’t sure how he’d ended up back in his room. Instinctively, Tim checked his watch, but the blank face stared up at him. He walked to the bathroom and was startled when he noticed he had a full beard. He ran his fingers through it in disbelief. Was everything that just happened a dream?
Tim showered and shaved again, before putting on a fresh set of clothes from his bag. He wasn’t sure what time it was, or even what day, but he decided to walk to the church and set things straight with William. He walked out of the bed and breakfast room in a hurry, making his way to the church.
When he turned past the library, Tim heard the sound of yelling, which he recognized as the protesters from the day before. As he walked past the group, he studied their faces. The exact same group of twenty and thirty-somethings stood on the sidewalk with their signs, yelling about the Sequoyah Grove development plan. Tim crossed to the other side of the street to avoid interacting with them, and he finally came to the church property. His heart rose into his throat, as he saw William Carey standing in the same spot he’d been in the day before, wearing the same outfit he’d been wearing for two days now.
“William, what’s going on?” Tim asked, with no attempt to conceal his distress.
William stared at Tim, his face blank. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice shaking. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’ve just found the body of Officer Daniel May, if that’s what you’re talking about.”
Without speaking, Tim ran past William to the spot where they had found the body earlier. His blood ran cold as he drew near and could see Daniel May’s limp form lying on the ground with a bullet hole in his forehead and his hands covering his ears.
“Who are you?” William asked when he had caught up to Tim. “How did you know about this? I just found him a few minutes ago.”
Tim ignored Williams' questions and asked, “What day is it?”
“It’s Saturday,” William answered.
“Jesus,” Tim muttered, and he ran back towards downtown. He ran past a black hearse that was pulling into the parking lot of the church, and he could see Carl Fields in the driver’s seat. He ran without stopping until he got to Sammy’s Place, and he flung the door open, causing several customers inside to gasp and give startled looks. He looked around the dining room until he spotted Eleanor, and he approached her.
“Hey, there!” she said, when she noticed Tim walking towards her. “Can I help you?”
“Have we met?” Tim asked, frantically.
“I can’t say we have,” she said. “Is everything okay, sir?”
Tim turned and ran from the restaurant, making his way back to his room at the bed and breakfast. He slammed the door behind himself and sat at the desk across from the bed. He placed his head in his hands and rested his elbows on the desk in front of him. What is happening to me?
Tim stood and began pacing around the room, trying to make sense of what was going on. There was something almost cathartic about the creaking of the floor beneath his footsteps.
Okay. Breathe. I got here last night, and William Carey told me that he’d found the body of Daniel May that morning. When I went back this morning to see where he’d found the body, he didn’t recognize me. He told me he’d just found the body, and he didn’t know who I was. Neither did Eleanor. When I tried to get out of town, I blacked out and woke back up where I started. It’s like today is repeating itself, and I’m stuck in it.
Tim thought of trying to leave town again, but he had a sinking feeling that it was useless. Something in his gut told him there was no way out of this. Besides, he had given Eleanor his word that he would try to solve the murder. If the same day really was being repeated over and over again, there was no way for the murderer to be caught without Tim’s help. Tim returned to the desk and sighed, feeling like he was going crazy. He resolved to stay in Sequoyah until he had solved the murder of Daniel May. He thought of the last few days and everything he knew about the case so far.
At some point this morning, or yesterday, or the day before that, Daniel May, Sequoyah’s only police officer, was shot point blank behind Sequoyah Baptist church. His body was found by Pastor William Carey, who had been eating breakfast in the parsonage next to the church when he heard the gunshot. May’s hands had been glued to his ears by the killer, possibly as some sort of cryptic message. William Carey claimed to have no motive for May’s murder, instead pointing to Bailey Jenkins, a young woman May had arrested a day before his death, for a protest that had gotten out of hand.
These were all the facts Tim had, and they left him with far more questions than answers. Tim decided he would have a conversation with Ms. Jenkins, and from there, he would try to get another look at Daniel May’s body.
With nowhere else to look, Tim made his way to the group of protestors. By this point, the crowd had thinned some, but there were still a handful of Sequoyah’s residents huddled together, shouting in unison. Tim approached the leader who stopped yelling into his megaphone when they made eye contact.
“Excuse me,” Tim said. “I’m looking for Bailey Jenkins. Do you know where I can find her?”
“She’s working,” the man said, “or else she’d be leading this thing.”
“And where does she work?” Tim asked. Without a word, the man threw his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the library. He turned back to the mob and shouted into his megaphone again. They echoed him as Tim began walking to the library. He paused when he reached the front entrance. The library was a small white building that must have been a house before it became the library. It had the same structure as many of the houses nearby, and it was roughly the same size. The only difference was a rectangular wooden sign that hung from the roof of the porch with the words, “Sequoyah Public Library.”
Tim took a deep breath and pushed through the front door. As he stepped in, he was overwhelmed with the smell of old books, and the dust tickled his throat, making him cough. A young woman who had been reading a book at the front desk glanced up at him at the sound of his cough. The woman was small, with straight, shoulder-length black hair and round glasses. She couldn’t have been older than thirty.
“Can I help ya find something?” she asked.
“Good morning,” Tim said. “I’m looking for Bailey Jenkins.”
“That’s me,” she said. “What can I do for ya?”
“I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions. The body of Officer Daniel May was found out behind the church this morning, and I’m investigating his death. My name is Tim Stephens.” Tim studied Bailey’s demeanor as he said this, but her face revealed nothing. She remained expressionless.
“That’s awful,” she said, her tone of voice not quite matching her words. “How was he killed?”
“He was shot.” 
Bailey nodded slowly, taking in the news. “And you’re talking to me, because…”
“I spoke with William Carey, who found the body this morning. He said that you were recently arrested by Daniel.”
“And so you think I killed him,” Bailey interjected.
“I didn’t say that,” Tim said. “Why were you arrested?”
“It wasn’t just me,” she answered. “There were five of us. We were protesting the city’s proposed development plan, and we blocked traffic. Daniel came and told us to move, but we didn’t. He took us all down to the station, and then let us go within an hour. It wasn’t a big deal, and it certainly isn’t a reason for me to kill him.”
Tim nodded. “And what’s this development plan all about? I’ve been hearing about it.”
“It’s called Sequoyah Grove,” Bailey answered. “They want to put this fancy resort in the mountains just outside of town. They’re saying it’ll bring in jobs and money to the town, but all it’ll really do is take away from Sequoyah’s natural beauty and put more money into John Doyle’s wallet.”
“What do you mean?” Tim asked.
“He already owns half the businesses in town,” she said. “This’ll just be another one for him. He’s only making it seem like a town-wide initiative, because the land he wants to build on is public property. He needs a majority vote from the town for the project to pass. Otherwise, he’d buy the land today and start building.”
“I see,” said Tim, nodding. “And did Daniel May have strong opinions for or against the project?”
“As far as I know, he never came outright and said that he was in favor of it, but he sure showed a lot of bias against those of us who protested against it.”
“Like when he arrested you,” Tim said.
“Exactly.”
“And where were you early this morning?” he asked.
“I’ve been here all day,” Bailey said. “I got here around seven to sort through some books that were donated to the library.”
“Can anyone confirm this?” Tim asked.
“Probably not,” she answered. “I’ve been here alone all day. It’s a small library, so it doesn’t take much to staff it.”
“One last question,” Tim said. “Can you think of anyone else in the town who may have had a motive to want Daniel May dead?”
Bailey hesitated, thinking the question over. “You may want to talk to his niece, Eleanor May. She was the only family he had, and she stood to inherit a good bit of money. I don’t know how well she does at the diner, but she wouldn’t have to work with what Daniel left her.”
Tim had seen his fair share of murders in his time as a detective, and he’d lost count of how many of them were committed over money.
“Thank you for your time,” he said, turning to leave. “And if you think of anything else,” he added, “I’m staying at the bed and breakfast. You can find me there.” As Tim walked through the library doors, he felt the stale library air give way to a warm afternoon breeze. He felt his stomach growling with hunger, and he realized he hadn’t eaten today. He decided he’d grab a bite to eat at Sammy’s Place and talk to Eleanor then. Regardless of her potential motive of inheritance from Daniel, if she was his only family, she would surely be able to offer insights that others couldn’t.
Before he went to the diner, however, Tim wanted to get another look at the body. Carl Fields had taken May’s body to the morgue, and while he wasn’t an ME, he may have gotten some helpful information during his examination of the body. With his plan formed, Tim made his way back down the street to the bed and breakfast.