Walleye Junction (25 page)

“She had to return to Helena. I can't guarantee that she'll be coming back.”

“That's a shame. She knows her shit. How are you getting around?”

Macy held up Aiden's car keys. “I borrowed a car.”

Lou sat back in his chair. “These e-mails aren't feeling like a hoax. They're citing real cases. We just have to figure out how it all comes together.”

“Do you think we're being drip fed Philip Long's last story?” asked Macy.

“It's a bit of a leap, but I suppose it's possible.”

“I've listened to his archived shows. It's just the type of issue he'd try to tackle. He's had numerous conversations with callers about prescription drug abuse.”

“It would mean that someone got their hands on Philip Long's missing work.”

“Carla's son, Sean, is a possibility. His girlfriend, Kristina, has that whole hacker-girl vibe going on. Might as well fit in a bit of anarchy on the side.”

“I didn't realize such a vibe existed,” he said.

“Kristina has the tech guys in Helena running around in circles. As far as we can tell, she doesn't exist outside of social media.”

“If it is Sean who's behind these e-mails, he needs to quit dicking around and turn himself in.” Lou rubbed his eyes. “This social media stuff is so far outside my experience I'm not sure what to do with it.”

“It's possible that Carla called Sean for help. If Philip Long had his laptop with him when he was abducted, it would have had his files on it. Maybe she shared the files with Sean and Kristina. You said Carla used to work in the tech industry. Downloading them onto a USB memory stick would have been easy.”

“But why would she do that?”

“I can only guess,” said Macy. “I was told Carla was frightened of her husband. He may have bullied her into going along with the kidnapping and she was having second thoughts.”

“All this speculation is interesting, but it's getting us nowhere. If Sean is too scared to come home, he's free to call us. Meanwhile, Bob Crawley is sitting in a cell, and there's plenty of physical evidence that puts him at the crime scene. I say we charge him with kidnapping and murder and go home for the day.” Lou sat back.

“Tempting as that is, we'll have to hold off for a few hours. I'm heading up to see his wife now,” said Macy. “She has given us permission to interview the children. She's suddenly very focused on clearing her husband of any involvement.”

“Yesterday she wanted his head on a post. What changed her mind?”

“She says it's for their children's sake, but I have a feeling it's more to do with market forces. Bob Crawley runs a publically traded company. News of his arrest got out yesterday evening and the value of the stock fell by twenty percent when trading opened this morning. A continued free fall would reduce the bottom line in any financial settlement she hopes to receive in a divorce.”

“Nothing like a wife with a vested interest. Any word on Stacy Shaw?”

“I spoke to her mom. Stacy hasn't been home for three days.”

“The officers that went around to Murphy's Tavern to ask about Crawley found out that Stacy Shaw has been a regular there for the past six months.”

“Stacy is Crawley's alibi,” said Macy. “Without her he's in trouble.”

There was a knock on the door. A uniformed officer stepped inside and apologized for interrupting them.

“They found Joel Edwards's car parked illegally in an alley off Main Street. Looks like it's been there since yesterday. From what they can tell, he's been sleeping in the backseat.”

“Impound it and have a couple of uniforms canvass the area. He should be close by.” The officer left and Lou rubbed his eyes. “I wonder what Joel is up to. You know that his disappearing around the same time this all went down could be a coincidence.”

“All the same, he knew Carla as a friend. It would be nice to interview someone who may have some insight into what happened.”

“I hear you,” said Lou.

Macy picked up the printout of the e-mail. “Mind if I keep this?”

Lou nodded. “I thought we'd all meet tonight for a dinner at my place to talk things through. It would be nice to get everyone in the same room. I invited Aiden Marsh as well. Gina would be a bonus, if she's back in time.”

“Sounds like a good idea. Can I bring anything?”

“Just yourself. My wife is expecting us at seven.”

“Sounds like a summons.”

“That's because it is,” said Lou. “Don't be late.”

*   *   *

Lined up according to age, Adam, Finn, and Annabel Crawley sat on the living room sofa staring at Macy with varying levels of interest. Their mother, Charlotte, had kept them home from school. The unexpected day off had made them anxious rather than elated. They knew something wasn't quite right. The arrival of two police officers didn't ease their troubled minds. They seemed less bothered by the absence of their father. The eldest of the three had spoken briefly to introduce himself as Adam. His eyes searched out his mother before announcing that his daddy was away on business
again
. Annabel was holding her rescued doll tightly. She'd cried when Macy handed it to her. Between tears she smiled up at Macy like she was the patron saint of lost toys. Meanwhile, the middle one looked suspicious. Finn was not going to be swayed by Macy's shiny new detective badge and friendly demeanor. Something was amiss, and he didn't like it one bit. The eldest of Bob and Charlotte's four children was up in his room. Between slamming doors, Macy had heard music pumping out into the upstairs landing. The fourteen-year-old didn't have anything to add to the conversation so he'd barricaded himself in his room. His parting shot had been directed at his mother.

Mom, you and dad always fuck up everything.

Macy had been left feeling winded on her behalf. Charlotte Crawley was present, but sat a discreet distance away where the children couldn't make eye contact. After reassuring them that she loved them no matter what and that they should always tell the truth, she'd gone quiet. There were signs of stress in her face though. Before setting off from Walleye Junction, Macy had spoken to Charlotte on the phone. Charlotte was worried. Annabel had had another difficult night of interrupted sleep. When pressed by her mother she'd hinted at some dark episode that had occurred down by the river.

Macy gave the children another reassuring smile before introducing them to Margaret, a developmental psychologist who consulted for the state. After spending an hour talking through strategies with Charlotte, they'd agreed that it was okay for Macy to take the lead, but Margaret had been firm.

“Children are very impressionable, so no leading questions. Let them tell their version of events. If I feel they're getting stressed I'm going to intervene.”

The interview was being videotaped. Macy had already caught Adam mugging for the camera. She had the impression that he would be the most cooperative of the three children and as he was nearly nine it was probable that he was the most reliable witness sitting on the sofa. She started with him first.

“Adam, when did you build that fort that's down by the river?”

Adam verbalized every thought that came into his head. There was a planning stage that had gone on for a few days prior to making a start. Materials were gathered. Schedules coordinated. Twice Finn conferred with his brother through whispering in his ear.

Adam brushed his younger brother off. “We built it last Saturday morning.”

“It's a nice fort,” said Macy. “Did you have any help?”

“Annabel kept watch.”

“Why did you need Annabel to keep watch?”

Another whisper from Finn was followed by a quick turn to check with his mother. Charlotte told him that it was okay. She wasn't angry with them. Adam looked down at his hands.

“We weren't supposed to be down there on our own,” said Adam.

“Why do you suppose that is?” asked Macy.

“Dad says in the spring the river is really high because the snow is melting. It's dangerous.”

Macy glanced down at her notes. There was the unmistakable sound of rushing water in her head. She suddenly felt cold. For a few seconds she said nothing.

“Did you go near the water?” she asked.

“Only to throw stones,” said Adam. “I swear we didn't go in.”

“Did anyone from the house see you down there?”

“Daddy came looking for us, but we hid in the fort.”

“Did you watch him?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“What was he doing?”

“He was calling our names. He left after a few minutes.”

“Did he do anything else?”

“No, ma'am.”

“Did anyone else come looking for you?”

“No, ma'am.”

“Did you ever see anyone else down there?”

Annabel sunk her face into her doll's hair. Her voice came out in breathless whisper.

“There were two men,” said Annabel.

“Anna, we're not supposed to tell,” said Finn, finally breaking his silence. “They said they'd hurt us.”

Adam put his arm around his younger brother's shoulders.

“It's okay, Finn.”

This time it was Finn who shoved his brother's arm off.

“You don't know that,” said Finn.

Macy handed Annabel a tissue. She was crying again. From the corner of her eye, Macy caught sight of Charlotte. She had her face buried in her hands.

“Finn,” said Macy. “Would you feel safer if those men were in prison?”

Finn nodded.

“Would you like to help us catch them?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Adam was sitting on the edge of his seat, looking eager. He almost raised his hand to speak. Macy reached out and touched Finn's knee very lightly.

“I'm going to let Adam tell us what happened. Is that okay with you and Annabel?”

Annabel stood up. “I want my mommy.”

“That's fine, sweetheart. Go sit with your mommy.” Macy smiled at Adam. “Adam, you can start whenever you're ready.”

“Do you want me to tell you about the whole afternoon or just the part when we saw the men?”

“Why don't you start the story right before you saw the men. What were you and Finn and Annabel doing? Picture it in your head if it helps.”

“We were playing in the woods. We'd been in the fort, but then we wanted to go explore. Annabel stayed behind because her doll was taking a nap.”

Finn whispered something in Adam's ear.

“We were looking for animal tracks,” said Adam.

“Did you find any?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Where were you looking for them?” asked Macy.

“In the trees near the path. We could see the river and the fire pit from where we were tracking animals. Finn saw the boat before I did. We watched them bring it ashore.”

“What kind of boat was it?”

“A canoe.”

“Do you remember the color?”

“Brown, I think.”

“What did the men do?”

“They got out of the canoe and looked around. Their faces were covered with masks like we use for skiing when it's really cold. They had a plastic garbage bag. They emptied it in the fire pit.”

“Is this when they saw you?”

Adam shook his head. “Annabel was in the fort. She didn't know they were there. She came out and they saw her.” He started speaking faster. “They were calling to her to come over and see them so I shouted that they should come get us instead. Me and Finn started running and they both came after us. One was slower because he had a limp.”

“Did they catch you?”

“Yes, ma'am. The faster one grabbed Finn, so I stopped too. He told us if we told anyone we saw them, they'd come find us again. They knew where we played.”

“Did they hurt you?” asked Macy.

Finn pulled up his sleeve. There was finger-shaped bruising around his forearm. His eyes were wide and anxious.

“He pulled my arm behind me like he was going to break it.”

“I bet that hurt. Are you feeling better now?”

Finn rotated his shoulder.

“It's just sore.”

Macy returned her gaze to Adam.

“Did you go back for Annabel?”

“We waited until they left and then we went to find her, but she wasn't down at the fire pit anymore. She'd run back to the house. We found her hiding in her closet.”

“You were all very brave,” said Macy. “Do you think you could tell me a little bit more about what they looked like? I know their faces were covered but maybe you remember what they were wearing.”

“Same sort of stuff people always wear for fishing.”

“So, aside from the masks it looked like they were out for a day of fishing?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Finn, do you remember anything else?”

Finn thought for a few seconds. “He and the other man argued.”

Adam frowned. “I don't like this part.”

“Adam,” said Macy. “It's important you tell me everything.”

“The man who caught Finn wanted to throw us in the river, but the man with the limp said he didn't want to kill us. He said that we were well-behaved kids and would do as we were told. He made us promise that we wouldn't tell.”

“You kept your promise for a long time.”

“Yes, ma'am, but we've all been really scared. 'Specially Anna.”

“Do you think it would have been better to tell your mommy and daddy right away?”

“Anna wanted to, but we wouldn't let her.”

Lloyd Spencer had walked with a pronounced limp since he'd wrecked his quad bike. He'd been involved in the kidnapping so there was a distinct possibility he was one of the two men who'd tried to dump evidence on the Crawley property. Macy wanted Finn's arm photographed. It was a long shot, but the finger-shaped bruise on his arm might match the one found on Carla.