The Push

by J C Fuller

  “Gotta earn your stripes, Deputy.” She stopped in front of a dark, solid mahogany door with a gold E134 emblem placed neatly in the middle. “I don’t think Jim Evans pushed her off the cliff, but he did push her onto the island. You have to wonder if it really was for the innocent reason he gave.”

  Lane motioned for Caleb to hand her Janie’s apartment key and gave the door a polite knock, before putting it in the lock. “Let’s see if we can find anything which might shed some light on Janie’s personal life.” She turned the knob and opened the door to a spacious and lavish apartment.

  “Fancy schmancy.” Caleb gave a low whistle and walked straight to the large window overlooking the city skyline.

  At the moment, the heavens were a clear beautiful blue with nary a cloud to be seen. The typical rain clouds haunting Seattle had apparently decided to wander off and shower over some other part of the state for a short while. It was days like this, Caleb realized, the view was worth every penny paid.

  Lane walked up beside him, pulling back the drapes to look down at the street below and the cars parked nose to nose beside the sidewalk. A transit bus drove by creating a dark plume of exhaust in its wake, leaving the black cloud to linger in the street. Lane’s thoughts differed quite a bit from Caleb’s.

  “Here, you take the living room and I’ll take the bedroom.” Lane snapped on a pair of latex gloves and tossed an extra pair to Caleb. “Let me know if you find anything interesting. Especially a laptop or computer.”

  “Will do.” Caleb caught the gloves and looked about the tidy apartment trying to decide where to start. Lane pointed to a small writing desk against the wall, artfully placed in the corner.

  “Why don’t you start there?” Lane suggested, and then headed down the narrow hallway leading to the rest of the apartment. She tried the first door and found a bathroom. Giving it a quick once over, she then walked further down the hall and found the only bedroom.

  Opening the door wider, she noticed the bedspread was a golden yellow, while the lamp shades and the drapes were a deep red. The two colors blending well together and highlighting the beautiful gold and red painting hanging on the wall above the headboard.

  Scattered across the bedspread and on the floor were various items, mostly hiking or camping related, along with a large camera bag holding a multitude of photography equipment. Sitting in the middle of the bed was an oversized red backpack left half-filled. It looked to Lane as if Janie had a hard time figuring out what to bring, surmising the young woman had decided to pack light. Most likely, not relishing the idea of lugging all her gear up the mountain on top of wearing a heavy camera strung around her neck.

  Wandering closer to the bed, Lane took a mental inventory of what was left behind. In doing so, she stepped on a pair of yellow shoelaces, left unstrung and lying on the floor next to a very well-worn pair of hiking boots. Next to the shoes was a pair of red and yellow socks, a couple of white tank tops, and a pair of black cargo shorts. Lane realized why Janie had washed her clothes at Sue’s, the girl had taken a limited wardrobe for the three days.

  On each side of the bed there was a small night stand. Lane opened the little drawers, but found nothing of interest. Just a few magazines, a nail file, two hair scrunches, and a bible.

  Standing in the corner of the room next to the window for lighting was an art easel holding a large canvas. A small table was beside it. Little pots sprouting various paint brushes and an array of colored bottles, with a smothered paint palette covered with dry blotches of various blues, greens, and browns sat upon it.

  Lane lightly touched the painting. It didn’t feel tacky. No one had been painting recently.

  “Wonder if she decided to take up painting and give up photography?” Lane mused to herself, standing back in an effort to decipher the many swipes and daubs of color blended across the canvas. After a minute, Lane shrugged her shoulders and turned her back on the easel. There wasn’t enough progress for her to even wonder if Janie would have been successful.

  Next, she walked to the double doored closet, swinging them open and letting out an appreciative sigh. Having basically lived out of a suitcase for the last six months, Lane marveled at the organized wealth of space the apartment closet possessed.

  Her eyes scanned the clothes hanging on the wall, noting they were hung in order of the rainbow. Reds, then a small section of orange, followed by a larger section of yellow, which she assumed were clothes Janie had kept of Danie’s. There were a few items of green and a large section of blue jeans and shorts. Lastly, whites and blacks. The shoes were sectioned off the same way, the majority being either red heels or red sneakers, followed up by a litany of yellow colored footwear. Lane wondered what it had been like for Janie to go through Danie’s stuff after she had died. Deciding what to keep and what to throw away. What to hold onto to remember her sister by and what to let go.

  “Sheriff, I think I found something.” Caleb’s voice floated from the front of the apartment.

  “On my way,” Lane called back, taking one final longing look at the closet, before turning off the light and closing the doors behind her. “Find her computer?”

  “Yeah, but that’s not it.” Caleb’s voice sounded excited. Lane picked up her pace.

  “Oh? What then?”

  “Might be nothing.” Caleb held out a thin spiral notebook. “Looks as if someone was practicing writing Janie’s signature.”

  “What?” Lane looked down at the notebook, analyzing it closely. Written several times across the paper was the name Janielle A. Engels.

  “This was laying on top of it.” Caleb held a single leaf piece of paper and Lane tilted her head to read it as he handed it over.

  “Looks like a copy of her apartment application.” Lane scrutinized the signature and the spiral notebook for comparison. “Yeah, they were trying to match her signature.” Lane looked up at her deputy and then towards the desk. “Where did you find this?”

  “It was laying on top. Out in the open.” Caleb walked over to the desk, pointing to where he’d found the items. “Think she was working on her penmanship?”

  Lane shook her head, mulling the suggestion over. “I’m more inclined to think someone gained access to her apartment after her death and was trying their hand at forgery. Possibly to cash checks or something. We need to call her bank and see if any large amounts of money have been withdrawn after she died. Better bag it, might be able to lift fingerprints off the pages.”

  “Think it’s one of the apartment staff?” Caleb took the plastic evidence bag handed to him. “Should we ask for an employee list?”

  Lane frowned, carefully placing the paper and the notebook into the open bag Caleb held. “No, I don’t think so. They’d most likely would have made off with her TV or laptop…stereo. Stuff like that. Easy to pawn.” Lane raised an eyebrow in thought. “But then, if it was the building staff. They weren’t very smart to leave it out in the open like this.”

  “Maybe someone with a key to the place?” Caleb sealed the bag. “Think Brent Allister had a key to his ex-girlfriend’s apartment?”

  “Possibly. Though, she likely would have asked for it back.”

  “If she was smart.”

  “Something seems off. Eventually this place will have to be packed and moved. Why leave it out to be found?” Lane pulled open a desk drawer revealing extra pens and blank papers. “Unless they planned on being the one to pack the place up?”

  “Sue Carter?”

  “That’s who I’m thinking.”

  Chapter 26

  Philip was completely intrigued by what he was seeing. For the last twenty minutes, Brent had been repetitively walking up and down beside the creek bed with his head bowed, scouring the ground at his feet. He had suddenly stopped and was now gazing up into the sky in a reflective manner.

  Curious to what the young man was searching for, it had not missed Philip’s attention, they were only a few feet away from where Janie’s body had been found. Starting
to feel a little guilty, Philip decided to make his presence known and walked out from behind the large girthed spruce he’d been hiding behind.

  “I thought that was you,” Philip said, with a friendly smile, doing his best to be disarming. “You lose something?”

  At the sound of Philip’s voice, Brent’s head jerked down in surprise and he took a tentative step back, his hands immediately going to his pockets, his face turning red.

  Cautiously taking a few steps forward, Philip slowly approached the young man, sensing he was as spooked and flighty as a startled deer.

  “Didn’t lose your car keys, I hope?” Philip asked lightly, trying to give an easy-going smile with the question.

  “No, nothing like that.” Brent, quickly re-gaining his composure, smiled weakly. Though Philip sensed he was slightly annoyed to have been interrupted. “How are you, Ranger Russell?”

  “I’m good, Brent.” Philip made his way across the small creek, using the larger rocks to keep his boots from getting wet. “Sorry, if I startled you. I know it’s typically pretty solitary out here.” Philip extended his hand out for a handshake.

  “Oh, you didn’t startle me,” Brent fibbed, his face turning redder, taking Philip’s hand in a hardy shake.

  “What were you looking for?” Philip casually glanced around at the ground by their feet.

  Brent’s smile, not as easy going as Philip’s, tightened. “I’m not looking for anything. Why would you think that?”

  Philip shook his head at the same time as he shrugged his shoulders. “If you don’t want to tell me, Brent. You can just say it’s none of my business.”

  Brent’s bluffed denial, which was nothing compared to his grandfather’s grandstanding personality, dwindled. “Sorry. Yeah, I am looking for something.” He ran his hands through his hair, looking up at Philip with uncertainty. “I thought I might be able to find the missing memory card from Janie’s camera.”

  “That so?” Philip’s eyebrows shot upwards in surprise. That particular bit of information had not been made public. “How did you know the card was missing?”

  “Deputy Pickens told me about it. Well, actually. He told Amy and Amy told Lucas, who told Gabe, who told me,” Brent clarified. “I thought if I could find the memory card, I could still get the pictures over to the magazine. She really wanted to get those shots to her agent.”

  “That the only reason?” Philip gave Brent a skeptical look, while making a mental note to tell Lane about her deputy’s loose lips.

  “That’s the main reason. But…” Brent dodged a bee as it buzzed by his face. “If I did happen to find the memory card, it could also prove Janie was alive when I left her. If the photos are time stamped…” He lurched to the side, the bee buzzing by again. “My lawyer, you know my Gramps. He says it would be good for my alibi.”

  “Why do you need an alibi, Brent?” Philip took his hat off, waving away the bee, which seemed attracted to his shiny tie clip and forest ranger badge.

  “Careful! Don’t tick him off. I’m allergic to anything with a stinger,” Brent took a cautious step back from the bee and Philip’s waving arm.

  “I hate to break it to you, Brent. But the woods might not be the safest place for you then.”

  “I know.” Brent chuckled, patting his cargo pants thigh pocket. “I’ve always got my EpiPen on me, just in case.”

  Philip put his hat back on, the bee having buzzed off, and squinted down at Brent. “So, you were saying?”

  “Well, Gramps says it’s just a matter of time before they bring charges against me. They’ve decided Janie’s fall was a homicide and since I was the last person to see her alive. They’ll naturally suspect me.” Brent swayed his head side to side, disgusted with the notion.

  “Hope not.” Philip pulled his hat down tighter. “Brent, you don’t think she jumped…or was pushed?”

  “Jumped on purpose? Of course not! And pushed? No! Nobody would ever want to hurt Janie!” Brent’s face grew serious, not liking the question. “She had to have slipped and if I can find the memory card. Well, then it might put the questions to rest about me or even the whole damn thing.”

  “Finding that memory card will be a big task, Brent. Not to mention, the card might be damaged from the fall. Might have landed in the creek and been soaking in water this whole time,” Philip cautioned, before adding. “Or maybe someone walked away with it? If the sheriff’s department is correct about her being pushed off the cliff…” Philip couldn’t help himself, and looked back behind them, up to where Janie had fallen. “Could you use some help?”

  Brent had followed his gaze and then turned to face Philip, surprised. “Really?”

  Philip shrugged his shoulders, “Sure.”

  “Um, yeah. Okay.” Brent quickly surveyed the search area. “I’ve checked this spot right here pretty thoroughly. But the section over there and there.” Brent pointed ahead of them, indicating both sides of the creek, “I haven’t gotten to yet.”

  “Well, let’s finish this section here and then we can each take a side.” Philip nodded towards their feet and started wandering away from Brent, working his way downstream. “By the way, I’m sorry for your loss. I know you and Janie were…” Philip searched for the right word to describe what Sue had shared about their relationship and settled with “very close.” Brent nodded, not saying anything in return. “It’s sad to have lost both sisters so close together.”

  Brent closed his eyes and shook his head, before stopping to face Philip. “It’s devastating.” He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and dropped it on the ground, marking his location before walking over to where Philip stood. “It’s the worst of coincidences.”

  “Do you think it really is a coincidence?” Philip asked, bluntly.

  “It has to be!” Brent’s eyes went wide, seeming to take offense. “Everyone loved those two. Who would want to hurt them?”

  Philip shook his head, not having the answer himself. “Tell me. What do you remember about the day Danie drowned?”

  “Why do you want to know?” Brent asked, a tinge of anger creeping into his voice. “Is it because you think I pushed her too? That’s what Gramps thinks people will start saying. But it’s not true. I’d never hurt either one of them.”

  “Never said you did or would,” Philip said, calmly. “Just asking you, because you were there.”

  “Still don’t see why you’re asking,” Brent said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest.

  “Brent, you and I both know Janie didn’t jump and she was too good of a climber to have accidentally fallen off that cliff.” Philip put a halting hand up, stopping Brent’s hot words. “Now, I don’t think you hurt her. Which means, somebody else did.” Brent’s scowl lessened, a slow realization replacing it. “And if the two girls dying a year apart really isn’t a coincidence, then we might want to look at Danie’s death a bit closer. Now, what do you remember?”

  Brent, the wind of defiance out of his sails, sat himself down by the creek bed.

  “I guess you’ve got a point.”

  “Tell me about last summer.” Philip squatted down, keeping his eyeline level with Brent’s. “Was it a good summer? Everyone getting along?”

  “It was a great summer.” Brent gave a small smile, meeting Philip’s eyes. “Both Janie and Danie had decided to come back.”

  “Didn’t they always come back each summer?” Philip asked surprised, trying to think of a summer without both girls.

  “Yeah, but Danie had been hemming and hawing about staying in Pennsylvania. Janie talked her into coming back.”

  “Do you know why Danie had second thoughts?” This was something he was pretty sure Lane would want to know about.

  “No.” Brent shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t get me wrong, I liked Danie. But Janie was the only one I cared about making the trip.” Brent turned his body, facing Philip. “It might have been because their aunt back east was fighting cancer or maybe something to do with getting ready for college?
I honestly don’t remember.”

  Philip nodded his head and pondered. “So, when both girls got here, everything was normal with everyone?”

  “Oh, yeah! It was like always!” Brent’s face lit up. “We spent a good portion of the summer on Lucas’ dad’s boat, did a ton of hiking, horseback riding, camping, drinking…” Brent looked nervously over at Philip. Not seeing a look of damnation, Brent continued, “In fact, we had a spodie the night before at the campsite.”

  “Spodie?” Philip asked, not familiar with the term, being strictly a beer man himself.

  “You hollow out a large watermelon, throw a whole bunch of fruit inside with vodka, and let it sit all day soaking up the alcohol.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “Anyways, we were having a blast. Sitting around the campfire, roasting marshmallows, while Kevin played his guitar. All of us, laughing and joking around.” Brent suddenly laughed out loud. “And Lucas! He was drunk, hamming it up real good. Danie was annoyed at that. Thought he’d gotten a little too friendly.”

  “How so?” Philip asked, tossing a small pebble into the creek, before turning back to Brent. “He didn’t over step his bounds, did he?”

  “No, nothing like that. And if he’d tried, Gabe would have kicked his ass,” Brent reassured, his smile growing wider. “The poor guy just had too much liquid courage in him and he ended up confusing Janie for Danie. That’s all.”

  “That made Danie mad? I would have thought the girls would be used to being confused for each other?”

  “Sort of. If you messed up their names, that didn’t bother them. But Lucas…” Brent shook his head, a small chuckle bubbling up with the memory. “He’d gone up and slapped Janie’s butt. Gave her a good spanking. Playful, you know. Nothing malicious,” Brent clarified. “Ticked Danie off good though and embarrassed Lucas terribly.” Brent chuckled again. “Made the rest of us laugh our heads off.”

  “How did Janie feel about it?” Philip smiled with him, picturing the scene in his head.

  “Other than a sore bottom?” Brent laughed. “She was a good sport as always. Nothing ever really got under her skin.” Brent paused, “Actually, that’s not true. I guess it did bother her a little.”