Heart of Ice (37 page)

“Rhonda Grasso was pregnant, but Cooper wasn’t the father,” Louis said. “Your brother, Ross, was.”

Her face lost all its color, and she tipped forward as if her bones had dissolved.

“There’s something else you need to know,” Louis said. “Cooper was coming to the island to meet you. He fell through the ice bridge and nearly drowned. He spent a week in the hospital.”

Julie crumbled to the side and let out a cry. Louis started to reach for her, but Rafsky was there first, on one knee to catch her as she collapsed into his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder, clutching him.

L
ouis heard a faint rapping sound. It was coming from the front of the house, someone at the door. He looked back at Rafsky. He still had his arm around Julie, but she had stopped crying.

He left the kitchen and went to the foyer. When he opened the door he was surprised to see Maisey—and coming up the steps behind her was Flowers.

Maisey’s eyes went beyond Louis, and she tried to push by him. “Is she here?” she asked.

Louis took her by the shoulders, holding her back. “Maisey, wait. You can’t go in.”

“Where is she?” Maisey demanded.

“I can’t let—”

Maisey’s eyes dipped to the two suitcases, and she saw the sock monkey. She picked it up, her eyes welling.

“I made this for her. Please let me by,” she said. “I have to see her.”

Louis let her go, and she ran toward the kitchen. He turned back to Flowers. He was staring hard at Louis, his mouth pulled in a thin line.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” he asked.

“Chief—”

“You knew Julie Chapman was alive, and I had to hear
it from the housekeeper? If I hadn’t seen her leaving the coffee shop and offered to drive her back here I might never have found out.”

Damn it.
Maisey had told him. It wasn’t her fault; she assumed that because he was the chief he had to have known.

“Look, Chief, Rafsky and I didn’t even—”

“Rafsky’s here?” Flowers shoved past him, heading for the kitchen. Louis followed.

Julie and Maisey were in a tight embrace, crying. Rafsky was standing near the stove, watching them, and looked up at Flowers as he came into the kitchen, Louis a step behind.

Flowers stopped abruptly. He stared at the two women for a moment before his eyes went to Rafsky.

“Chief, please,” Louis said quietly. “Don’t do this now.”

Flowers was rooted to the spot. Rafsky put a hand on Maisey’s shoulder as he stepped around them and came toward the door.

“You son of a bitch,” Flowers said.

Rafsky positioned himself between Flowers and the women. “Let’s take this somewhere else,” he said.

Flowers spun and headed back to the foyer. Rafsky let out a sigh as he and Louis followed. Flowers was standing, arms crossed, in front of the door.

“What the hell is going on?” he demanded.

“How much did Maisey tell you?” Louis asked.

“Just that Julie was alive and you were talking to her at the cottage.” His eyes shot back to Rafsky. “I want to know what the fuck is going on. I want to know everything!”

Rafsky blew out a breath. “The bones in the lodge belong to Rhonda Grasso. Julie killed her.”

“What?”

“We couldn’t bring you in on this because—”

“How did you find her? How did—”

Rafsky held up a hand. “Let me explain.”

Flowers listened, arms still folded over his chest, as Rafsky laid everything out. When Rafsky was finished, Flowers shook his head.

“Who made the decision to cut me out?” he asked.

“I did,” Rafsky said.

Flowers looked to Louis. “And you agreed?”

“Things were moving fast,” Louis said.

Flowers stabbed a finger at Louis’s chest. “This is my island,” he said. “This was my case.” His eyes swung to Rafsky. “Right from the start you didn’t think I could handle this, and when you fucked it up, all you could think about was covering your ass.”

Rafsky was quiet.

Flowers looked toward the kitchen, and when he spoke again his voice was lower but no less angry.

“You people,” he said, shaking his head. “You come up here and take over everything. You make your messes and then you leave.”

It was the same thing Flowers had said back in Chester Grasso’s garage about Rhonda and Julie, but now Flowers was looking at Louis and it stung.

“Excuse me.”

They all turned. Julie and Maisey were standing in the hallway. Julie was still wearing her raincoat and looked as if the only thing holding her up was Maisey’s arms.

“Julie is really tired,” Maisey said, looking to Louis. “I
made up a room for her. Would it be all right if I took her up so she can rest?”

Louis nodded.

Julie gently disentangled herself from Maisey and came to Louis.

“No matter what happens, thank you for bringing me home,” she said.

She picked up the small suitcase and the sock monkey and slipped her arm through Maisey’s. About halfway up the stairs, Maisey stopped and looked down.

“Are you leaving?” she asked, looking at Louis.

Louis glanced at Rafsky but his face was a blank.

“I’d like to talk with you, Mr. Kincaid,” Maisey said. “Can you stay for a while?”

When Louis nodded Maisey gave him a small smile and led Julie up the stairs.

With a final glare at Louis, Flowers jerked open the door and went outside, jamming his hat on his head. Rafsky blew out a tired breath and headed back to the kitchen.

Louis watched Flowers trudge down the walk and went after him.

“Chief, wait!”

Flowers kept going toward the SUV.

“Jack, wait!”

Louis caught up as Flowers got to the driver’s door and grabbed the sleeve of his parka.

Flowers slapped Louis’s hand away. “I trusted you!” he said.

Louis held up his hands. “I know.”

Flowers moved away, turning in a small, tight circle, his head down.

“I’m sorry,” Louis said.

Flowers wouldn’t look at him. He pulled out his gloves and jerked them on. He looked up at the house. “What’s going to happen to her?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t even told the DA yet. Right now, other than me and Rafsky, the only people who know Julie Chapman is alive are Maisey and you.”

“You think you’re going to keep something like this quiet?”

“We have to, at least for a while. It could still blow up on us.”

Flowers looked at him over the hood of the SUV. “You mean it could blow up for him.”

“Yes.”

Flowers shook his head slowly, then he got in the SUV and started the engine. Louis stood shivering as Flowers pulled away. After Flowers turned around in the cul-de-sac, he stopped the SUV in front of Louis. The window whirred down.

“There’s a bad storm coming tomorrow,” he said. “You’d better stock up on supplies while you can.”

The window went back up. Louis watched the red taillights disappear down the road and then went back in the house.

He stopped long enough to stamp the snow off his shoes before he headed to the kitchen. Rafsky was standing near the refrigerator, connected to the kitchen wall phone by a long coiled cord.

“Yes, Greg Thom,” Rafsky said. “No, I need him now.”

Louis looked to the coffeemaker, then to the bottle of Harveys Bristol Cream on the counter. He started quietly
opening cupboards but found nothing but a second bottle of Harveys.

Louis reached for two glasses, listening as Rafsky began updating the Mackinac County DA on the events of the last week. Louis knew the DA was up on the case, but like Flowers he couldn’t possibly expect what Rafsky was about to tell him.

When Rafsky finished explaining that Julie was now on the island, Louis could hear the squawk of Thom’s voice from the receiver but couldn’t understand what he was saying. On Rafsky’s end it was mostly “Yes, sir” and “I understand.”

After he hung up, Rafsky rubbed his brow and looked at Louis, his eyes dipping to the glass in Louis’s hand.

“What is that?” he asked.

Louis handed Rafsky a glass and filled it. “Harveys Bristol Cream.”

Rafsky took a drink and grimaced.

“What did the district attorney say?”

Rafsky sank into a chair at the kitchen table. He downed the sherry like a shot of whiskey and held his glass out for a refill. “He was pissed until I told him we had our suspect right here on the island,” he said. “He wanted me to arrest her now, but I talked him out of it until he reviews her statement. He wanted me to bring the tape over today.”

He looked to the Harveys in his hand and finished it. “Fuck it. I’ll go tomorrow.”

“Did Thom indicate what direction he was going to take this?”

Rafsky tapped the rim of his glass and Louis refilled it again. “He asked me if I believed her story of self-defense.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him I did. But then he said that if it was self-defense, why did she run?”

“She was seventeen and scared,” Louis said.

“That’s no defense.”

“She thought she couldn’t go home.”

“Still no defense.”

“She was afraid of Ross.”

Rafsky gave him a raised eyebrow. “Do you really think an incest defense will mitigate murder charges?”

Louis picked up his glass but set it back down. He was so exhausted from the trip to California he could barely think.

“You’ve done all you can,” Rafsky said.

Louis heard a sound and turned toward the door. Maisey was standing there, holding Julie’s raincoat.

“Did I hear you mention Mr. Ross?” she asked.

Louis and Rafsky exchanged glances. Rafsky reached for the bottle of Harveys to refill his glass as a pretense to not answer.

“Yes,” Louis said.

Maisey came forward. “If that boy shows up here I’ll kill him,” she said.

L
ouis believed her. He believed that if Ross showed up at the house, Maisey would in fact kill him. Her guilt over not protecting Julie as a child had new life. Before today Maisey might have been able to go to her grave bearing its weight. But not now, not since Julie had been given back to her.

As for Julie, she didn’t ask one question about her brother.

She did ask about Cooper. Last night, as Louis and Rafsky were getting ready to leave the cottage, Julie had come downstairs. She had pulled Louis aside and asked if there was any chance she could see him.

I’m going to prison. I know that. I just want to see him once.

Later, back at their hotel, Louis had brought it up to Rafsky. It took Rafsky a long time to answer, and it was not what Louis was expecting.

I think I can make that happen.

What was behind Rafsky’s decision? It wasn’t sentimentality; that wasn’t in Rafsky’s bones. Louis suspected it was something deeper, something that came from that part of Rafsky that had whispered,
Tell Frye I forgive her.

Whatever it was, it had brought Louis here, to the Ice House bar in St. Ignace.

It was lunchtime, but the place was almost deserted,
just two men hunched over beers at the bar. Rafsky had told Louis that Cooper’s father had put the bar up as collateral for his son’s bail. Louis suspected the publicity had not been good for business.

There was a man behind the bar cleaning glasses. He was tall and thin like Cooper but older, and as Louis stepped up to the bar he gave Louis a hard stare.

“You’re that cop,” the old man said.

Louis didn’t bother to correct him. “I’m looking for Cooper Lange. Is he here?”

“No, he’s not. Now why don’t you get out of here?”

Over the man’s shoulder, Louis saw someone come out from the back carrying a beer keg. Cooper’s eyes were on Louis as he set the keg down.

“It’s okay, Pop,” he said. “I’ll handle this.”

The old man moved away to the end of the bar but didn’t take his eyes off Louis.

“What do you want?” Cooper asked Louis.

“I need to talk to you.”

“I don’t have to talk to you. I got a lawyer. Talk to him.”

“It’s not about the charges against you,” Louis said. “It’s something else.”

Cooper shook his head and started to turn away.

“Look, it’s personal,” Louis said.

Louis looked down the bar. Cooper’s father was still watching them, and Louis knew he could hear every word.

“Come outside with me,” Louis said.

“Forget it.”

“Cooper, you’ve got to trust me on this. It’s personal and it’s important.”

In the glare of the neon sign behind the bar, Louis could
see something change in Cooper’s face. With a glance at his father he followed Louis outside.

An icy wind was blowing hard from the lake. Cooper, standing there in his flannel shirt, didn’t seem to feel it. Louis pulled up the hood of his parka.

“I need you to come to the island with me,” Louis said.

“What? What the fuck for? You guys want to play hockey with my balls again?”

“Cooper—”

“Fuck this, man.”

Cooper started to go back in the door. Louis grabbed his sleeve. Cooper slapped his hand away but then stepped back, realizing he couldn’t risk even looking cross-eyed at a cop at this point.

“Goddamn it,” he said softly. “It’s bad enough I had to tell my dad everything. I had to tell him about Julie, I had to tell him I was running away to Canada, man! And here you are again. What the fuck more do you want from me?”

“I want you to come to the island with me,” Louis said.

Cooper shook his head. “Why?”

“I can’t tell you. Not here. You have to trust me,” Louis said.

Cooper hung his head.

It was time to play the ace.

“If you come,” Louis said, “I can make sure the resisting arrest charges against you are dropped.”

Cooper looked up at him. “Don’t fuck with me,” he said softly.

“I’m not,” Louis said. “Let’s go.”

*  *  *

When they got off the ferry, the kid handling the ropes told them the last ferry back to St. Ignace left at four. Louis assured Cooper he would make it, and they started up Main Street.

“Where are we going?” Cooper asked.

“The Chapman house.”

Cooper stopped. “What for?”

“You’ll find out when you get there.”