Dead Water (22 page)

“Yep, I know the area,” said Lew. “Damn! This is all my fault. I told Roger to look for evidence of someone
driving
back in there. Why didn’t I think of access by water? Dammit.”

“Lew, don’t be hard on yourself.” Osborne put his hand on her shoulder. “Who besides Ray would ever think to track through a swamp? We don’t even hunt back there.”

“But that is what makes it infinitely logical, Doc. I have to blame myself. My job is to think like a killer.”

“Am I the only one who wants to see what we have here?” said Gina, pulling on her set of gloves.

“Open it,” said Lew. Gina unzipped the pouch and tipped it forward gingerly. Out slipped a tiny, expensive cell phone.

“I’ll take that. Lucy can call the phone company and ask them to help us get a listing on any calls made.” Lew set the phone to one side. A set of keys and one other object had slipped onto the desktop.

‘Those are our house keys,” said Helen. “We give each guest a set so they can let themselves in at their convenience.”

“Yes!” said Gina, reaching for a small brown leather-bound book with deckle-edged pages. “I was hoping we would find this.”

twenty-five

“Once an angler, always a fisherman. If we cannot have the best, we will take the least, and fish for minnows if nothing better is to be had.”

Theodore Gordon

Gina
paged excitedly through the small volume. “I looked for this before I flew up here. I’ve been wondering what happened to it. Remember I told you Ashley had asked me for help writing a business book?”

“Yeah.” Lew nodded.

“I started her out with instructions to keep a daily journal. I told her to write like she was talking to someone. I wanted her to get comfortable in her own voice and not try so hard to be literary. You know what I mean?”

“Not exactly, but keep going,” said Lew.

“So okay.” Gina turned pages, scanning quickly. “Here’s an entry from three weeks ago … here’s about two weeks … here … I got it!” She read in silence as everyone in the room waited. “Oh my God,” Gina said softly, “I forgot about his dog. Oh my God …” She flipped back a few pages in the diary. “I’ll start here.”

She looked up at the expectant faces in the room. “I forgot Winston had a dog. Apparently, when he left Kansas City, he took the dog with him….” She paused to read. “Oh no … Ashley never told me she was doing this.” Gina took a deep breath. “Here, I’ll read you something she wrote almost a month ago—”

“Take my chair.” Helen jumped up. Gina sat down and set the book carefully in front of her, smoothing the pages back. Osborne edged in closer, standing so close to Lew he could feel her shoulders against his chest. She didn’t move away.

Helen checked to be sure the door was closed. The room was absolutely quiet as Gina started to read in a soft, deliberate voice.

“ ‘I start my search today. Am I crazy? I heard Gina tell someone at dinner the other night that you can always find a fugitive with a dog because they forget to change the dog’s name when they take them to a vet. I wonder if Michael will do that. That could be how I can find him. I’m going to try. I must find him. I have to. I have to know if he ever loved me. I must know. I cannot live without knowing.’ ”

“Next entry,” said Gina.

“What are the dates on these?” asked Lew.

“May fourteenth and fifteenth, about a month ago.”

“ ‘I started calling today. Called twelve vets around Savannah, where he hunts boar. No luck. Then I called the lodge in Montana, out where he hunts elk. They gave me names I’ll try tomorrow. Oh, Eagle Nest, Wisconsin. I almost forgot; I’ll try that, too.’ ”

“Next entry …”

“ ‘An incredible day. I still can’t believe it. My first call to a vet in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and I might have something. They said they had a yellow Lab with that name in for shots six months ago. I’m sending a letter up for them to forward to the owner. I hope and pray this is Michael.’ ”

“So that’s how she found him,” said Gina, looking up from the diary.

“What’s the dog’s name?” asked Lew. “I didn’t hear you read that.”

“She doesn’t say.”

“You don’t know either?”

Gina shook her head. “No. I was never around Winston and his dog. I never heard Ashley say anything about the dog, either, except that he spent thousands getting it trained for bird hunting. Ashley was a cat person; she didn’t tune in to dogs.”

“Damn.” Lew snapped her fingers. “If only we knew the dog’s name, we’d have Winston.”

“Let’s call local vets for a list of everyone who owns a yellow Lab,” said Gina.

“That’s not as easy as it sounds,” said Osborne. “This is dog country, and Labs are the most popular breed up here, especially yellows … and they all need shots. You’re better off tracking the guns first, if you ask me. What about someone in Kansas City who hunted with him? They might remember the dog’s name.”

“You’re right,” said Gina. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Gina, keep reading,” said Lew with an impatient wave of her hand.

“ ‘Michael called today. Out of the blue, his voice on the phone. I couldn’t believe it. He sounded like he was in the next room. His voice was so warm and gentle. It fills my heart. He said he was thrilled to get my letter, that I would never know how much it meant to him. He asked me to forgive the cruel things he said. My heart stopped. I could only whisper. He asked if he could call again. I said I didn’t know, but of course I want him to. Oh my God, my God.’ ”

“The next entry is dated the next day,” said Gina.

“ ‘Again that voice. I couldn’t wait to hear him again. I’m lost, I’m lost in this man. I have the whole world, but all I want is him. He is so gentle. He asked if I could forgive, and I said the time to forgive was past. I said forgiveness is the heart of my love for him. He asked me to keep these phone calls a secret until we know what we’re doing. He wants to leave the past behind. He wants to start over with me somewhere far away. God, how I miss him. When I hang up the phone, my heart is so full. I know in my bones this is right.’ ”

Gina read on. Two more pages, three more days, then Winston made his move: “ ‘Today Michael asked me to marry him. But he won’t let me answer until we’re together. He’s sending me tickets to fly up tomorrow. He said he wants to surprise me, so he has reserved a suite for me at a little bed-and-breakfast. He’ll have directions for me when I get there, I guess. He said he lives in a beautiful place with trout streams, eagle nests, and six different species of hawks. I can barely wait, it sounds so heavenly. He said it is very important to him to return the money he needed when he left. He invested it and will return every penny four times over. Silly man. I told him I don’t want the money, it doesn’t matter. He said it does matter, it proves he did not betray me. I have a surprise for him, too: a wedding band. As for the money, whatever he gives me, I’ll give back.’ ”

Gina turned the page. Only a few lines remained. “ ‘I’m here in this delicious B-&-B. My love has called and we’ll be together in less than three hours. I’m so excited. I told him I have to go for a run to calm my nerves. He thought that was cute and gave me directions to a route he said I will love. Funny, life will be so different when I pick up this journal again. Oh God, how this man stops my heart.’ ”

“That’s where it ends,” said Gina. She closed the book and set it square in front of her. She looked up at Lew and Osborne, her eyes hard with hate. Osborne had always thought hate was something evil. But he was wrong. In this moment, it was honest, true, and deadly.

“Hell of a book,” said Lew with a slight smile, as if to break the tension.

“She found her voice, that’s for sure,” said Osborne.

“Oh golly, what time
is
it?” Lew pulled her sleeve back to check her watch. “The funeral for Sandy Herre is at noon, and I really should be there.”

“It’s just eleven,” said Osborne.

‘Thank goodness. I have to change,” said Lew. “Gina, I’ll be back at the office by two. Can you be there?”

“Of course. Do you want me to take these items with me?”

“Thank you. Ask Lucy to call the phone company—”

“I’ll do it if you like,” said Gina. “It’ll take me two seconds. We do this kind of thing all the time at the paper.”

“Lew, why don’t I attend the funeral with you?” said Osborne. “It’s at Saint Mary’s and the Herres were patients of mine. I was planning to go anyway.”

“That would be nice, Doc.” Lew smiled with relief. “There are bound to be questions from the family, and I hate having no answers.”

Phil Herre was waiting at the entrance to the church. A clear blue sky had banished the gray morning. Plump billows of white scudded overhead. Sunshine, fragrant with lilac, flooded the steps leading into Saint Mary’s Church. Though the loveliness of the day lifted Osborne’s spirits, he felt it a gentle mockery of the grief in Phil’s face.

As they entered the vestibule, Phil spotted them. He hurried over to Lew and Osborne, gesturing weakly toward the sunshine spilling through the doors still open behind them. “At least we’ll be able to go to the cemetery in decent weather.

“Chief Ferris, is there any chance you can finish going through Sandy’s apartment today?” he said. “Her sisters would like to help her mother and me with her things while they’re here. They both have to leave tomorrow morning.” His eyes were red and bleary. “It’ll make things so much easier on my wife.”

“Of course, Phil,” said Lew, placing her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry that I didn’t finish before this. And it won’t take long. I want to check her desk one last time, and her car. As you know, the car was found near the crime scene, and I had it returned to her apartment complex. The Wausau lab checked it over and dusted for fingerprints, but I’d like to have a look myself.”

“I understand,” he said. “You sure have your hands full, don’t you. So I was thinking, we have the funeral luncheon following Mass, then the interment…. Could I bring the girls over after that? Does that give you enough time?”

“It should,” said Lew. “I’ll go directly from here, Phil. You just come by when you’re ready. You have a key in case I’ve finished?”

“Yes.” He turned to walk away, then stopped. “Do you think there’s any connection with that other shooting?”

“It’s too soon to tell, Phil,” said Lew gently.

He gave a deep sigh and shook his head, saying, “What is happening in this town?”

He glanced over to where his wife stood near the casket, her head bowed, her cheeks sunken with grief. Osborne’s heart ached at the sight of their faces. He could not begin to imagine losing one of his daughters. Even though he knew today that his life with Mary Lee had been hard, her unexpected death had left a hole too large, a hole he tried to plug with booze, until he put his own life in jeopardy. Thank God for the courage of the living; thank God for Erin’s willingness to force him into recovery.

Osborne reached to put his arm around Phil’s shoulder. He gripped firmly, wanting Phil to know that he understood. Turning toward Osborne, Phil returned the embrace for a brief moment. Osborne felt rather than heard the hard sob. Phil turned his face away as he raised his head, a thankful pat on the arm his parting gesture.

Before he could return to the bier, a young woman broke from the group and walked over to them. Slipping a protective arm around her father’s waist, she extended her hand to Lew.

“Chief Ferris,” she said, “I’m Carolyn Gardner, Sandy’s youngest sister.” As she spoke, the priest, Father Vodicka, took his place in front of the casket. She glanced nervously in that direction before saying, “Did Dad tell you? I talked to Sandy the day before … the day … well, she told me how she was starting her own bookkeeping business, y’know?” The girl wiped at her eyes. “And she was so happy because she already had two clients. One had even asked her to be their business manager.” Carolyn sniffled. The organist started to play. Carolyn looked at her father. “Dad, are we starting?”

“Not yet.” Phil patted her hand. “Not until everyone is seated. Keep talking, honey, I want Chief Ferris to hear this.”

“Then she said she had a big meeting the next day that might lead to some really good business, and if she got that contract, we were going to take a trip to Hawaii together.”

“Did she happen to say who that was?” asked Lew.

“No, she said she didn’t want to say any more because she didn’t want to jinx it.”

“I’m going to be searching her desk again,” said Lew. “But I didn’t find any datebook or calendar the first time I looked.”

“Did you check her computer? Sandy had everything computerized,” said Carolyn. “She told me right after she landed her first client that she mail-ordered a new PC that would do everything except wash her dishes. I’ll bet anything you’ll find her schedule in her computer. I know that’s what I do,” said Carolyn.

She looked at her father, and her face nearly crumpled. “Sandy was so happy going out on her own. She said even if it cost her a ton of money right now, she would make it back fast. She had it all figured out….” Carolyn slid into a soft sobbing. Her father pulled her close. “She … she was going to work half-days, so she could fish afternoons.”

“I didn’t know she fished,” said Lew.

“Bass,” sobbed Carolyn. “She fished smallmouth bass. They’re good fighters, y’know,” said Carolyn as she sobbed into her father’s lapel. She raised her head and wiped at the tears on her face. “That place where you found her body? That was just a mile from Shepard Lake, where she loved to fish. One of her favorite spots. Did you know that?”

“No, I didn’t,” said Lew. “That’s good to know. And thanks for the suggestion on checking her computer files, too. I’ve been planning to check through those this afternoon. If I have any questions, I’ll call you at your folks'. If you think of anything more that Sandy may have said about her client meeting the next day, or anything about her clients, please call. Lucy Olson is usually on the switchboard, and she always knows how to reach me, Carolyn.”