Black Cat Weekly #92

Chapter 6

byWhen the family returned to the Miles home after the funeral, Mike’s youngest niece was the first to provide a happy memory of him.

“When I was eight,” Leigh began, “Uncle Mike took my sister, Jenna, and me to the minor league ballpark. After buying us scorecards and pencils, he showed us how to keep score. When he saw we were tiring of it, he switched to getting us whatever snacks we wished. I don’t think either of us ever ate so much popcorn, hotdogs, and ice cream in our lives.”

“And that night you were both sicker than dogs,” added her mother to laughter. “But that was Mike in a nutshell…generous to a fault.”

Three days earlier “Big” Mike Miles, owner of Miles To Go Trucking (MTGT), had been found in his office with a knife stuck in his back.

“I don’t think I realized till much later how much Uncle Mike loved baseball,” said Jenna. “He’s the reason both Leigh and I ended up with softball scholarships to college.”

“When he was younger,” added Jace Pearson, MTGT Sales Manager and shortstop on the company softball team, “Mike pitched for the team, but recently he took even more pleasure being our manager.”

“I remember when we called Mike the ‘Big Bopper,’” said Clay Morgan, the warehouse foreman and second baseman. “No matter how far back the neighboring counties built their fences, he could still smack one out.”

“Mike fielded his position well,” put in John Hart, the team’s first baseman and warehouse stocker. “Even just forty-three feet back at the rubber, he could make unbelievable plays.”

Leigh found Aunt Millie hiding in her late husband’s study. “I just can’t believe he’s gone,” she said before breaking into tears.

Leigh put her arm around her aunt. “You told me you didn’t want to answer any questions about Mike’s death until his funeral was over. Can we talk now?”

Millie wiped her eyes with a tissue. “Why not! Mike will rest easier if you can catch his killer.”

“You found him in his office that night?”

“I was bringing him some supper. Ever since the business started to go bad, Mike would stay in his office poring over the books, trying to find out why the profits were down.” Then she added in a soft whisper, “Mike thought someone was stealing from him. Let me show you something.” Her aunt retrieved an envelope from a desk drawer and, putting on kitchen gloves, pulled out a sticky note.

“What’s that?” said Leigh.

“I know I shouldn’t have taken this note—it’s evidence in a crime, but you weren’t the lead investigator in the case.”

“Normal police procedure,” Leigh said, “with a family member involved. Is that all that was on the note?”

“643,” said Aunt Millie. “I thought it might have been the time Mike was killed.”

“Could be.” In all her years working for the local police force, Leigh had heard of dying declarations or clues, but this one was the first she had actually run into.

Millie pulled some records out of the envelope. “I also thought it might be an area code, but I looked it up. 643 hasn’t been assigned yet.”

“Another good idea,” said Leigh. “What are these other papers?”

“His company’s HR records. It occurred to me that 643 might be the first three numbers of someone’s Social Security Number, and since the killer got into Mike’s office after hours, it had to be someone he knew.”

“You’d make a good detective, Aunt Millie,” said Leigh, staring at all the softball trophies lining the study’s bookshelves, “but I think Mike has clearly identified his killer…make that killers. In fact, he hit it out of the park one last time.”

SOLUTION (How had Uncle Mike identified his killers?)

SOLUTION Having taught Leigh to score baseball, Mike knew his detective niece would recognize the scoring symbols in 643. 6-4-3 is how a double play is recorded in the scorebook: the shortstop (6) throws to the second baseman (4) for one out, and he relays the ball to the first baseman (3) for the second out. In other words, the three men stealing from his company warehouse were Jace Pearson, the team’s shortstop; Clay Morgan, the second baseman; and John Hart, the first baseman. All confessed, but found the state prison had no ball team.