For my part, having watched Pearl crush the life out of Ned, you might wonder if I feel badly about the manner in which he died, suffering as he did. Nah. Not even a little bit.
In most states, crimes of extortion (including blackmail, bribery, and ransom) are generally considered felonies, punishable by fines, imprisonment, or both. Iris was so rattled by her conversation with Detective Burgess that she called the number on his business card and said she had to talk to him. She knew Joey would disagree with her, so she proceeded without consulting him. Once at the station, she confessed the whole sorry mess. She hated implicating Joey, but she felt this was their only hope of getting out from under the burden of what they’d done. The fact that their scheme was never carried to completion worked in their favor, and while the two were charged, they were given probation and served no jail time. The district attorney figured Iris had suffered enough with the disclosure of the sexual assault video after the copy they’d sent to the McCabes ended up circulating around town. Lauren would never admit she was responsible, but she needed some small measure of satisfaction in the wake of Fritz’s death. Iris and Joey got married and moved to Arizona, where he’s opened a satellite office of Merriweather Homes, his father’s construction company.
It was Iris who told me about Fritz’s claim that he knew the perfect hiding place for a body, a boast he made in the course of Bayard’s pool party. At the time, he made no specific reference to the septic tank, but he’d attended camp at Yellowweed several summers in his youth. He told her that after the campgrounds were closed, he and his pals would go up there, remove the concrete cover, and have pissing contests, cackling as the streams of pee arced into the hole. He reported this to his mother as well, thinking she’d be amused. She was not, but she did confirm my theory about the matter when I asked.
In reconstructing events, my guess is that when Fritz and Bayard reached Yellowweed, his impulse would have been to open the septic tank and show Bayard the space to demonstrate how coffinlike it was. I can’t even imagine what he thought when he looked down and saw Austin’s desiccated body in the pit. He probably didn’t have time to assess the implications before Bayard fired off the shots that killed him, after which his body was shoveled in on top of Austin’s. The two might never have been found if not for the turkey buzzards and my keen sense of smell.
Bayard was arrested at the airport. His boyfriend, Ellis, was in no way implicated in his crimes, and from what I hear, he returned to the house, packed up the rest of his belongings, and left the state. On the advice of his attorney, Bayard refused to be interviewed by the police and never admitted any responsibility in the deaths of Austin Brown and Fritz McCabe. For those of us who knew the story, it was no big leap to conclude that he’d killed Austin to prevent his telling Bayard’s father about his sexual preferences. In this day and age, there’s no shame in admitting to being gay, but Tigg Montgomery had an aversion to homosexuals and would have cut Bayard off without a cent if he’d known.
Though this is unconfirmed, my hunch is that Bayard killed Fritz to avoid exposure in Austin’s murder, finishing a story that began ten years earlier. After a painstaking investigation by the DA’s office, Bayard was charged with both homicides. At the end of a lengthy and contentious trial, the jury brought back a verdict of not guilty, saying the prosecution hadn’t persuaded them of Bayard’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. I’m not saying justice is for sale, but if you have enough money, you can sometimes enjoy the benefits of a short-term lease.
Respectfully submitted,
Kinsey Millhone