Victoria Houston - Loon Lake 14 - Dead Lil' Hustler (17 page)

“Thank you, Ron,” said Lew. “Okay, Doc, Ray, are we ready? I’ll flick my lights so Sheriff Moore and his people know we’re ready.”

She and Osborne stood at the back of the cruiser just behind Ray. The trunk was open and the interior light shone down on the three units used to control the wolf howl boxes. Ray dropped his hand from his eye and leaned over to check the signals on the remotes in front of him. Meanwhile, the two police vans had moved in close to the entrance to the dirt road. Looking around at the officers and deputies on foot, Lew counted twenty-two men and women poised to provide backup.

“If these fellas are all from south of the border… think they’ll understand English?” asked Ray in a whisper.

“They’ll understand a badge and a gun,” said Lew. “That’s what counts.” She checked her watch. “Ready… go.”

Ray threw the first switch and dialed the volume on the first box to a level three out of ten. “This box is twenty yards below where they’re sleeping,” he said.

He threw the second switch and dialed the volume to a similar level. “This one is closer to the building… and the third box is right in line with the windows… it should sound closer than the first two.”

Osborne could hear a faint howling. Slowly, steadily Ray turned up the volume on all three boxes. “Yes… the wolves are closing in,” said Ray with a grim smile.

At level ten, the sound of wolves howling in the dark reverberated through the forest.

They waited.

In less than ten minutes, a utility truck alleging to be the property of Jeselnik Plumbing, Heating, and Excavating barreled up the dirt road. At the sight of the first police van, the driver skidded to a halt. The second van pulled in behind the truck at an angle that made it impossible for the driver to back away. Searchlights raked the side of the utility truck and two squad cars pulled alongside it.

“This is Sheriff Moore,” said a voice over a loudspeaker from one of the two vans. “Come out with your hands up and no one will be hurt.”

Not a shot was fired. Out of the van tumbled nine terrified people: five men, two women—one expecting—and two children. Found in the van were two Winchester 30-06 rifles fitted with telescopic lenses and twenty-two Ziploc bags filled with marijuana and marked with addresses or phone numbers for delivery. Hidden under the driver’s seat was an envelope containing $12,000 and with the letters “BJ” scrawled in black pen on the front.

• • •

“Ray, Doc, this may turn out to be the biggest drug bust in the history of Loon Lake, maybe even the county,” said Lew with a satisfied grin as they drove back into town. “I can’t believe that we have the names and addresses of the dealers they were delivering to. By the time Sheriff Moore and I collar those people and track down their customers, we will have shut down one hell of an operation.”

“Oh, this goes way beyond the county, Chief,” said Ray. “Based on the reaction from Strickland’s DEA buddy… you and Sheriff Moore may have pulled off… one of the biggest drug busts in the state… certainly in recent years. You better ask for a raise.”

Lew grinned even broader. “Thanks, Ray, but do you know what pleases me most?
No one got hurt.
When I saw those two little kids, all I could think was how bad it might have been if we had gone in with the SWAT team. We wouldn’t have known…”

“And think of the long-term damage for those children,” chimed in Osborne. “What a nightmare for a kid: grown-ups shooting guns, their family members killed. This may not be the best situation for them right now but it’s certainly better than witnessing acts of violence.”

“Speaking of violence,” said Ray, “I haven’t had a chance… to tell you two what happened to me back in there. First… I almost gave us away when I was setting up the first howl box… and two people showed up.”

“What?” asked Lew. “How did you handle that?”

“I hid back in the trees… it was one of the women taking one of the kids to the outhouse… a latrine, really. Next… I slipped and fell into one of their irrigation canals… you know,” Ray shook his head, “I still can’t believe I didn’t let out a sound… or drop one of the howl boxes… I mean, I went down
wham
.”

Lew and Osborne chuckled as he spoke. “Well, you’re safe and sound now except for that hole in your eye.”

“And that is not even the worst… I’m down near the riverbank the other side of the swamp that’s back in there… when I look around and see all these red eyes… staring at me from the dark.”

“Oh—the wolf pups?” asked Lew.

“Yeah, first the pups then mom and dad… then their cousins and their aunts and uncles… I counted ten wolves trying to decide if I smelled good enough to eat.”

“So that’s what took you so long?”

“You better believe it… I tried to remember everything I’ve ever learned about dealing with wolves… because oddly enough I have only ever seen one up close… and that was when I was a kid hunting with my old man.

“Keep in mind wolves have been almost extinct around here… until the last five years or so. So I was doing all the things you’re told to try to appear intimidating… which is not easy when you’re walking backwards into a pitch-dark forest. At one point I was ready to call for help on my cell… when I remembered that you took down cell service.”

“Oh, Ray,” Lew turned to look at him in the backseat. “You must have been terrified.”

“I was. And I don’t mind telling anyone I was… but I had a sandwich in my backpack that I was able to toss at them… and that kept them busy long enough for me to scramble up an old tree stand back in there… I was lucky. It was either that or I was going to start howling myself… and blow our beautiful plan.”

“I was wondering why you were moving so fast that you ran into that branch,” said Osborne. “That’s not like you, Ray. You’re pretty at home in the woods night or day.”

“Yep, that’s what it was all about… I don’t think I’ve run that fast since Bobby Enderle chased me home… saying he was going to beat me up. That was in third grade… and I ran faster ’n that tonight.”

“Lew was ready to go in after you,” said Osborne. “She had a hunch something had gone wrong.”

“Speaking of hunches, Ray,” said Lew, “this idea of yours to use the wolf howl boxes was excellent. I’ll see that you get a bonus for tonight’s work. Mind if I share some of the details—like your episode with the wolf pups? I think our city council would enjoy it.”

“Yeah, they can enjoy it all they want… I’ll use that bonus to buy me another sandwich… now that I think about it, I am starving.”

“We’ll get you home soon. But you can be sure that the powers that be will know that it’s thanks to you that we can all take pride in a good night’s work,” said Lew. “That includes all of us—Sheriff Moore’s people, even Alan Strickland, though he did his best to put the kibosh on it. So a huge ‘thank you’ again, Ray. And, look, we’re a block from the hospital.”

“You’re as welcome as the flowers, Chief. Problem is… it’s four in the morning right now and I’m supposed to be guiding two guys in about two hours… think I have a good reason to reschedule?”

“When I drop you off, give me their phone number and I’ll call them for you,” said Lew. “Then you call me on my cell when you’re ready and I’ll give you a ride home.”

“No, Lew, this has been quite a night for you, too,” said Osborne. “I have a better idea. Let’s drop Ray off and you take me back to the station for my car. Then I’ll come back here and wait for him. If he’s got a corneal abrasion like I had, they’ll want to be sure the eye is clean and give him advice on how to help it heal.”

“You’re sure?” asked Lew.

“We’re sure,” said the two men in unison. “Yeah, my eye is already feeling better,” said Ray. “I’ll survive.”

• • •

Before climbing out of Lew’s cruiser, Osborne turned toward her and instead of his usual quick kiss on her lips, he said, “You know, Lew, there’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I know it’s late but I’ll feel better if I mention it.”

“This doesn’t sound good, Doc. Something wrong?”

Osborne paused before he spoke, a bad feeling in his gut. But he forced himself to say, “Well… much as I care for you, Lew, we aren’t married… so if you find yourself attracted to someone else, I’ll understand.” He held his breath as he waited for the bad news.

“What?” A stunned expression crossed Lew’s face. “Where is
this
coming from?”

“Lewellyn, Jake Barber is a fine man, he’s successful, he loves to fish, he’s much closer to your age, he’s—”

“Whoa, Dr. Osborne. Stop right there. Yes, Jake is a wonderful person but so are you.” She grinned at him. “You are ever so much more so.
You
, sweetheart
,
are my best friend…”

“I am?” In spite of the early morning hour, the enthusiasm in her voice made Osborne feel wide awake, sixteen, and awkward all over again—and he loved it.

“Now listen, Doc, I have paperwork to finish before I can sleep so I have to kick you out of my car, but will you promise me this is not an issue between us? Promise?” And she leaned forward to give him the kind of kiss he planned to think about until the sun came up.

Osborne drove back to the hospital where Ray was just coming out of an examining room. “You were right, Doc. They said I’ve scratched the cornea… but it’ll heal pretty fast. They gave me some drops to use… and sleep will help, too.”

“Lew called one of your guiding clients a few minutes ago. Afraid she woke him up but he understood. He said they’ll stay over an extra day to fish with you. He was pretty impressed when she told him why you’ve been up all night.”

“Great. Say, Doc… do me one more favor? Ask Erin to call me and tell me exactly when she’s to pick Cody up to come home…
exactly when.
I need to know.”

Osborne gave him a puzzled look. “Sure. I know she feels bad that they can’t take home that hat you gave him. She can barely get him to take it off at bedtime.”

Osborne was sound asleep when his cell phone rang at nine the next morning.

“Hello, Dr. Osborne, this is Cynthia and I apologize for taking so long to get back to you. I was away this weekend but I got your message about that little wooden box. Is this a bad time to talk? You sound like I woke you up.”

“No, no, this is fine, Cynthia.” Osborne checked the time on his alarm clock and was surprised to see how late it was. “I appreciate your call. Did you find the little box that I mentioned?”

“I believe so. It’s on the mantel in Mr. Jarvison’s study and I turned it over like you asked. There is a mark in red ink on the bottom. Is that what you were wondering about?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“The Jarvisons are out this morning if you want to stop by and I’ll show it to you. Mrs. Jarvison won’t be back until ten and Mr. Jarvison is golfing.”

Osborne thought that over. “No, thank you, Cynthia, I don’t want to get you in trouble. If you don’t mind keeping an eye on that box though, I’ll talk to Bud about it one of these days.”

After saying goodbye, Osborne leaned back against his pillow thinking,
So Bud Jarvison has the wooden fly box that belonged to Liam Barber. That’s curious
.

• • •

It was late morning when Nancy Jarvison got home from her workout with her personal trainer. The fitness center was in Rhinelander but she didn’t mind the drive. She had to leave before Bud was up and the early morning sessions gave her an opportunity to avoid him, which she appreciated more and more these days.

When he hadn’t returned from golfing by four that afternoon, she started to wonder. Was he still at the country club bar or hanging out with that woman the nurse’s aides had mentioned? Bud’s drinking had grown so out of control in the last couple years that she couldn’t count how many times he had blacked out and had to be driven home by one of the creeps he had taken to hanging out with—some of those guys could barely speak English. Class was not Bud’s long suit these days.

At 6:30—with the pork roast and parsley red potatoes that Cynthia had prepared still warm on the dining room table—there was still no Bud.

All right. This could be it
, thought Nancy, grimacing as she tapped her empty wineglass on the table.
Tomorrow I see a divorce lawyer. For what that’s worth. The money, most of it anyway, is gone.

She had only herself to blame—she should have divorced him years ago. At the very least, she should have paid attention to what he was doing with their money, especially after her father’s will had stipulated that her inheritance be rolled into the Jarvison trust.

Thank you, Dad, for trusting my intelligence
, thought Nancy as she refilled her glass with chardonnay. She was at least as smart, if not smarter, than Bud. She would never have invested $6 million in a high-tech start-up that went bust after two years—all because it was the brainchild of the son of one of Bud’s stupid college buddies. The lawsuits on that venture alone cost another couple million.

And then he goes and puts $30 million in the hands of his fraternity brother, the investment broker running one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in the Midwest. Granted, a lot Bud’s friends lost money on that one, too. And she wasn’t the only wife ignorant of what the not-so-smart boys were doing.

So if she did divorce Bud, what was left? As of a week ago, the banker managing the family trust said they had 150 grand in stocks and bonds. All the real estate was mortgaged. So what’s left is a measly 150 grand? That does not make for gracious living. Nancy sloshed the wine in her glass. They would go through that in six months.

But… there is one other asset: life insurance. On Bud.

The one smart thing she did right after their son was born, and back when the Jarvisons were the wealthiest family in northern Wisconsin, was take out a $20 million life insurance policy on Bud. The trust manager assured her those premiums had been paid faithfully over the years so that was one piece of good news.

All she needed now was for Bud to drop dead.
I wish
, thought Nancy. In spite of his heavy drinking and bad diet, Bud was remarkably healthy. Given his genetic history, he would likely live well into his eighties.