Burnt River (31 page)

Keeping low, Macy came alongside Dean’s patrol car and peered in the open window. The keys were still in the ignition. She removed them and put them in her pocket. She peeked in the home’s windows as she went around the side to meet Aiden. She caught glimpses of domestic clutter and heard the strains of a sitcom laugh track through the screen windows. Aiden was waiting for her. They spoke in whispers.

“The garage is empty.”

“So is Dean’s car. His keys were still in the ignition.”

They stayed low so they couldn’t be seen from the bedroom windows. Aiden checked the sliding door leading into the living room and found it unlocked. Macy kept her eyes on the backyard. The garage doors were wide open, but a small, windowless shed was secured with a padlock. Aiden was breathing heavily next to her. He leaned against the wall and pulled back his hat so he could wipe the sweat from his eyes. His hair was soaked through and matted to his forehead.

“I think we should go in.”

“Wait,” said Macy, grabbing his arm. “The television has been switched off.”

A woman’s voice called out from the bedroom window to their right. “Lana, is that you, sweetheart? I thought you said you were going to bring me some lunch.”

Macy kept her voice low. “Who’s that?”

“I don’t know. She sounds older.”

“Lana’s mom?”

“She didn’t say anything about her mom living with her…”

“Lana, quit playing games and come give me a hand. I’m thirsty.”

Macy touched Aiden’s arm. “If Dean was in there, he would have answered.”

They slid open the screen door and stepped into a family room paneled with dark wood. A pillow and blanket spilled onto the floor from a brown corduroy sofa. A collection of nail polish bottles covered the coffee table. Bright pink varnish was splattered across the wood surface. It was the same color as the lipstick on the cigarette butts Macy had seen near the picnic table at the lake. Aiden moved into the kitchen. Someone had been preparing a meal. Water had boiled dry in a blackened pan. He turned off the burner.

They checked the bedrooms one by one, easing each door open before moving on to the next. Aiden pointed out snapshots of Lana taped to a mirror.

“This is Lana’s room.”

There were signs that she’d left in a hurry. A few of the drawers were pulled out and emptied. Clothes hangers were scattered on the floor. In the bathroom at the end of the hallway, the cabinet was open and the shower curtain drawn shut. Macy held her breath as Aiden pulled it open. Aside from a stray bar of soap the bath was empty.

They hovered outside the remaining bedroom listening to a news program that was playing on the television. A female newscaster was taking them live to Darby Lake. Aiden counted to three before turning the handle and sweeping into the room with his gun drawn.

“Police. Keep your hands where I can see them.”

At first Macy didn’t know what she was looking at. There was too much flesh. The woman on the bed blinked up at them. Thick arms ballooned out from her sides as she tried in vain to raise them. The blankets were kicked off. She wore a nightdress. Her legs had the girth of tree trunks, but her feet were small like a child’s. She looked from Aiden to Macy with her mouth drawn open into a bow.

“Where’s Lana?”

Aiden ignored the question. “Who else is here?”

Her voice turned shrill. “It’s just me and Lana. Where is she?”

Macy checked the en suite bathroom. There was a large walk-in shower and someone had built a pulley system above the toilet. “It’s clear,” she said, reentering the bedroom.

Aiden went to the window and shifted the curtains. “The team’s coming up the drive. I’ll go out front and organize a more thorough search.”

The woman blinked up at them again. “Why aren’t you telling me anything? Where’s Lana?”

“Ma’am, my name is Detective Macy Greeley. Could you please identify yourself?”

“Marsha Clark. What’s going on?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Are you Lana’s mother?” Macy noticed an empty water glass on the bedside table and took it to the bathroom for a refill.

Marsha gulped it down. “Yes. I moved up here from Georgia about a month ago. I couldn’t live on my own anymore.”

“When is the last time you saw Lana?”

“It’s been at least an hour. She said she was going to make lunch. I must have dozed off. It’s been so hot.”

“Has anyone else been living here?”

“No.”

“Any visitors?”

“She doesn’t seem to have any girlfriends, but I’ve heard a couple of men in the house.” Lana’s mother gazed down the length of her body. “She doesn’t introduce me to them though.”

“Anyone come today?”

“Yes, he was a new one. I heard him and Lana arguing. He tried to come in here but she talked him out of it. I heard her call him Tyler.”

“Tyler and Lana seem to have left. Did you overhear anything that might help us find them?”

“Is Lana in trouble? I didn’t like the sound of him.”

“I need to know if you heard anything. Did he say where he was taking her?”

“Nothing specific. I drifted off. I didn’t even know she left.”

A team of paramedics appeared at the door and Macy excused herself.

Marsha’s voice followed her out of the room. “You’ll tell me when you find Lana.”

Macy hoped she wasn’t right, but she’d had a bad feeling since she’d found Dean’s keys in his car. She walked past the officers sweeping through the rooms and caught sight of Aiden directing a team to go search the outbuildings and the woods surrounding the house. Beyond the shaded porch an ambulance sat in the shade of the trees. Closer still, two patrol cars were parked in the front yard. The sun was setting behind the trees but the temperature didn’t seem to be dropping. Macy walked across the dry grass toward the vegetable plot. She stopped at the back end of Dean’s patrol car and reminded herself that Dean could be anywhere, then popped the trunk. She stared for a second before easing it shut.

Aiden called to her from the porch. “Macy, we found Dean locked in the shed. He’s alive.”

Macy went around the side of the house to where paramedics were attending to Dean. He’d been wrapped up with half a roll of duct tape. One of his cheeks was grazed and his forehead was bruised and swollen. As soon as they cut the tape away from his mouth he started apologizing.

Aiden told him to worry about saying sorry later. “Do you have any idea where Tyler may have taken Lana?”

He spit up some blood. “No. Tyler comes up to me outside and I’m relieved to see the guy. I tell him everyone thinks he’s dead and he hits me with a baseball bat.”

Macy knelt down next to him. “I’d say you’re lucky.”

“It doesn’t feel that way at the moment.”

The paramedics undid the tape binding Dean’s wrists and dropped it into an evidence bag Aiden was holding.

“Did you see the car he was driving?”

“Yeah, I saw it. Late-model blue Chevelle like we’ve been looking for. There were Idaho plates on it, though.”

“What about Lana? Did you see her?” asked Aiden.

“No, sir. I didn’t.” He pressed his palm to one of his eyes. “I really fucked up, didn’t I?”

Macy touched his knee. “I’m not sure you would have done much better if there were two of you. Do you remember the license plate number?”

“At some point, I passed out from the heat. It must be over a hundred and ten in that shed.”

“License plate?”

“All I could get was 2CR4.”

Aiden walked over and inspected the tire tracks cutting into the dusty soil. “He probably stole the plates off a tourist coming through town.”

Macy looked around. “So what now, Aiden?”

“Tyler can’t have gotten far in the last hour and a half. That car doesn’t have much range on a tank of gas, and going off-road isn’t an option. I’m betting that he’s still in the valley.”

A helicopter circled overhead, kicking up dust. Macy pointed to the sky.

“Make sure those guys know what we’re looking for.”

He picked up his radio. “I’m on it.”

23

They stopped in at a mini-market on the way up to the Dalton Ranch to pick up something to eat. Macy came across Aiden staring longingly at the refrigerated cases stacked with cartons of beer. She nudged him down the aisle toward the coffee dispenser.

“There’s plenty of time for that later.”

“I feel like I let Lana down.”

“You and me both.”

“But it’s different with you. You didn’t know Tyler. You’d think I would have realized.”

“I can give you all kinds of reasons why that wasn’t going to happen, but no matter what I say, you’re going to replay every interaction you’ve ever had with him.”

“I guess I won’t be the only one.”

“No, I suspect a lot of people around here are going to wake up tomorrow morning feeling like they’ve been taken for a ride.”

The valley spun away, silent and dark outside the car windows. Macy fought the urge to reach over and take Aiden’s hand. They were colleagues. It would be inappropriate. She was just being emotional, and her life was complicated enough. Distracted, she fiddled with the air conditioner. Considering the temperature hadn’t dipped much below ninety all day, she felt surprisingly chilled. She was beginning to think she might be suffering from heat stroke. She sat back and closed her eyes.

“I had a feeling something wasn’t right. I should have thrown everything at it.”

Aiden checked the side-view mirror and pulled into the outside lane to overtake a camper van. “You told Dean to bring someone with him and he didn’t listen. Did you manage to speak to Tyler’s commanding officer?”

“His CO didn’t realize Tyler’s mental health evacuation was relevant. He thought it was very brave for Tyler to admit he was struggling. As a rule, soldiers of his rank never do. They’ve had a few guys come forward since he left. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that Tyler was probably faking it.”

“It looks like Tyler’s issues predate his stretch in the army.”

“Do you think he tracked down Charlie Lott?”

“It’s more likely that Charlie came here looking for Lana and found Tyler instead.”

“Every property Tyler’s ever been associated with will have to be checked. There’s still an APB on Charlie Lott’s car, but I think we can assume Tyler’s keeping it out of sight, given how unique it is. For all we know he might be driving something else by now. What’s your read on his parents? Are they cooperating?”

“Hard to say.” He handed her a map. “They’re third generation. They marked all the properties that are owned by the extended family. There are twenty-three so far but we’re checking to make sure it’s accurate.”

“I’m beginning to wonder if it was Tyler who got Jessie started on drugs. He has a history of dealing. There’s no reason to believe he stopped. She was fourteen when she started using. He was what? Twenty?”

“It’s possible.”

“Annie seems to have had a real blind spot when it comes to him.”

“That text Annie received the night John died is making more sense now.”

“Jeremy mentioned that he and Annie argued a lot about Tyler.” She paused. “Aiden, do we know what Tyler’s movements were on the day Lindsay died?”

“According to his statement, he was out working on the ranch with John on Tuesday afternoon. Dylan spoke to John about it, but we’re going to need more than hearsay. We’ll have to check and see if anyone at the ranch saw them together.”

“I suppose we should swing by and see Dylan on our way back to town.”

“No need. He’s moved into Wade Larkin’s spare room. His mother decided to spend some time with her sister in Boise. They convinced Dylan it wasn’t a good idea for him to be on his own.”

“Are we sure Sarah is where she’s supposed to be? She’s been sleeping with Tyler Locke for years. They could be meeting up somewhere.”

Aiden’s eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror. “We have someone looking into it.”

“I keep going back to Lindsay Moore. How is she involved in this? Tyler isn’t going around killing just anyone. He left two witnesses up at Lana’s house.”

“I was wondering about that as well. She was asking a lot of questions about Green. He must have gotten nervous. Until we found Green’s body, Tyler had Dylan and Jessie under control.”

Macy unwrapped a packet of chewing gum and offered a piece to Aiden. “Has someone warned Bob Crawley that his association with Lana might put him in danger too?”

“We offered him police protection, but he declined.”

“I doubt his wife is going to be so forgiving this time. His behavior has put his family in danger. Plus there’s the possibility he’s been paying Lana for sex. That’s bound to come out eventually.”

“You think that’s really what was going on?”

“You saw the situation with Lana’s mother. There’s no way Lana is pulling in enough income at The Whitefish to support the two of them.”

“You have to wonder why Lana mentioned her relationship with Bob in the first place, then.”

“Maybe she thought that if she said it was an affair from the beginning, people might never stop to question whether it might have been something else.”

“I suppose you’re right. Have you spoken to Ray?”

“Briefly. He was polite, but not to the point of apologizing. He did admit that he’d gotten it wrong, which makes a nice change. Since then he’s tried to get in touch a half a dozen times. I’ve not bothered to return his calls.”

“That might come back to bite you on the ass. He’s still your boss.”

“Given the nature of some of the correspondence, I doubt he’ll risk complaining.” She paused. “He seems overly concerned that I was taking on too much, considering I’d been caught up in that explosion.”

“Aside from what happened out at the lake today, you seem fine.”

“That had nothing to do with my health. I’m pretty squeamish around dead bodies. There’s always something that gets to me.”

“You could always become a traffic cop.” He grinned.

“Don’t laugh. I’m sure Ray is contemplating it.”

“He wouldn’t dare.”

“We’ll see.” She paused. “At any rate, I think I’m going to take some time off after this. I have a lot of vacation days built up.”

“You should come up to the Flathead Valley. It’s a nice place if you’re not working.”