“This is a nice surprise.”
“A short one.” He turned to face me and kissed me on the top of the head. “I’m heading back out tomorrow.”
“I’ll take what I can get.” I stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the mouth. “Whatcha making?” I glanced at the array of colorful vegetables as he tossed them into a frying pan.
“Stir-frying some vegetables. I know when I’m away you mostly eat canned soup, cereal or popcorn.”
“You’re far too good to me.”
Then I began to wonder if he’d made a trip home to check on me because he’d been worried that I’d go drown my sorrows in wine after being in my hometown. My frown caught his eye, and he lifted my chin with the tip of his finger.
“There was a change in the case I’m working and we’re heading to a new location tomorrow, so all the guys took the night off. Not just me.”
I gave him a quick smile and set the table while he finished cooking. After a few minutes we sat across from each other, digging in.
“Gotta admit, this is better than popcorn for dinner anytime.” I shoveled a forkful of veggies and rice in my mouth. “Maybe you should stay home and be a homemaker and just do all the cooking and cleaning.”
He threw back his head and laughed and the sound filled me with joy. We’d had our tough times, but God I loved this man. I could feel words burn the tip of my tongue but I swallowed them because I wasn’t ready. Instead, I told him about my day. How hard it had been being near my old home, how annoyed the city cop had been to see me in the town garden, and finally, about how enthusiastic clairvoyant Ray was about us becoming the freak show.
“You think he’s the real deal?” Garrett took a drink of water. “You know, it took me a long time to believe in your abilities. You know it took numerous times of seeing your work firsthand before I became a believer.”
“Yeah, I’ve gotta admit, even though my talent is real different, it feels weird to believe someone can tell your past or future just by holding your hand.” His mention of Wayland Canteen sprang to my head and I shuddered. “But he seems to be the real deal. I’ve seen him in action, and well, I’ve got to admit he’s got something.”
“You’re not really thinking of partnering up with him?”
I shook my head. “I work alone but...” I swallowed another bite of food. “I did give him permission to give people readings about this Alice Ebert case. He’s going to see if he can get any leads for me, and who knows, maybe he’ll pick up on something.”
“Seems harmless enough. Are you sure you want to spend a lot of time in that area?” Garrett reached for my hand. “I just know how it hurts you.”
“I think I’ll be okay.” I gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m just going to stay away from that exact area where I grew up and focus more on other parts of the area where a body could be.”
“Good idea.” He leaned in and kissed me.
That night we made love in a fever of passion. Garrett fell asleep spooning me, his left arm draped across my chest. On his ring finger was a platinum band with an etched scene of mountains and sea. I touched a finger to his ring and my heart ached. We’d had matching ones. But I screwed up big-time and lost mine. Now his ring felt like a constant reminder of my failure.
I woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon. With a yawn and a stretch I rolled out of bed and padded to the kitchen in bare feet. Wookie greeted me with a shove of his thick head and I gave him a good scrub behind the ears before walking over to Garrett at the stove.
“You’re already dressed and ready for your day.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed the back of his neck as he cracked some eggs into the fry pan.
“And I took Wookie for his walk and he and Fluffy have both been fed. I was beginning to think I’d have to leave before you rolled out of bed.”
Confused, I glanced over his shoulder at the clock on the stove.
“Holy crap, it’s ten o’clock?” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I never sleep this late!”
“I know, and you were snoring like a freight train.”
“I don’t snore!” I grabbed a dish towel and swatted his butt.
He grabbed the towel and pulled me close for a kiss.
“Well, you were snoring last night but actually it was kind of cute.” He tapped the tip of my nose. “I guess after yesterday you really needed a hard sleep. I’m glad.”
Later Garrett grabbed his weekend bag and told me he had to hit the road.
“I might be away three or four nights. I’m really not sure.” He gave me a warm hug. “I’ll call you tonight.”
I watched his car back out of the driveway into the drizzling fall day, then I opened my laptop and started with my emails. I was hoping for replies to the messages I sent to the contacts of Alice and Roscoe and I wasn’t disappointed. Overnight I’d received a number of messages. Apparently, everyone had an opinion and wanted to share it with me. The majority of those thoughts were that Roscoe Ebert chopped her up and tossed her in the ocean. Not a single person thought he was innocent. There was also an email from Roscoe’s lawyer asking if I’d like them to courier the copy of the trial transcripts. I phoned the Bellingham area law office and advised them that I’d pick up the package.
My phone rang just as I was disconnecting from that call and it was Tracey. She wanted to meet for coffee but I had other plans.
“How do you feel about boats?”
“As in cruise ships in the Mediterranean with us sipping fruity drinks, because I’m all for it if you’re buying,” she remarked enthusiastically.
“I was thinking more along the lines of a small fishing boat looking for a body.”
Chapter Five
Tracey hesitated only briefly before agreeing to go out on a boat with me. I picked her up an hour later and she climbed into my Jeep, chatting away a mile a minute about the fact that she’d heard from her ex-boyfriend, Craig.
“And he brought up the time we went down to Seattle to go see a show but then we got so busy in the sheets at the hotel that we completely missed the show and didn’t even come up for air until we were starved and so we ordered room service.”
“You sure sound happy when you talk about him.” I steered the Jeep to the exit going north on I-5.
“Yeah.” She sighed.
“Do you think there’s a chance you two will get back together?”
“No.” She began playing with the radio until she found a rap song she liked.
“You never know...” I smiled over at her. “You only said that it didn’t work out and you didn’t want to talk about it. I respect that but whatever happened, maybe you can look past your differences if he makes you this happy.”
“He didn’t do anything wrong. Craig is a good guy with a good heart.”
“Then why—”
“He wants a family. He talked about it all the time. He wants little boys running around who look just like him.”
“And you don’t want kids?” I passed a slow-moving car and then looked at Tracey just in time to see a curtain of pain cross her face. “Sorry, that’s none of my business.”
“Of course I want kids. Don’t you?”
I frowned. “I’m...well... I just don’t think I’d make a good mom.”
“That’s stupid. Of course you’d make a good mother.”
Tracey was a loyal friend but she didn’t live inside my head. She didn’t feel the burning need for alcohol that clawed at me and all the dark thoughts of the past that whispered quicksand thoughts.
“So if you want kids and he wants kids, then what’s the problem?” I asked.
“I can’t have babies, Julie. I mean, physically I can but I’ve just decided not to. I have a genetic disease and there’s a good chance I’d pass that on to my kids. I don’t want that for them.” She switched the radio to a new station. “I’m no
t saying it’s wrong for other people with Ehlers-Danlos to have babies. Hell, if my mom had felt that way I wouldn’t be here, right? It’s just I made the decision long ago that it wasn’t a journey I want to make.”
“I’m sorry.” The words felt weak to me but she just laughed it off.
“There’s always adoption in my future so let’s not get all morbid about it, okay?” She playfully punched me in the shoulder. “It’s just that I saw the look on Craig’s face when I told him I’d never give birth to his babies. Even though he said he’d be fine with adoption, I could tell it would kill him not to have his own. I couldn’t do that to him.”
I felt emotional tears prick the back of my eyes until she added, “Then I caught him sexting with some random woman on the other side of the world. I mean just some stranger! He said it wasn’t the same as cheating because they both knew they’d never actually see each other in person, but the betrayal felt the same, you know? I mean, when you’re with someone, the only one who should see their naked body is you. It’s not cool to send nudie shots to some other person just for kicks.”
“Wow. That’s awful. I’m so sorry...”
Then suddenly Tracey shouted, “Oh I love this song!” She cranked up the radio so loud my whole body vibrated with the beat.
A few minutes later we pulled into a convenience store to get drinks and snacks for the road. Tracey told the cashier that we were going out on a boat for an adventure. The bored cashier didn’t reply.
“You’re pretty excited about helping me find a body.” I pressed the key fob to unlock the Jeep as we walked across the parking lot with our purchases.
“I’ve never been on a boat before. Well, I’ve been on a ferry, of course, but those don’t really count.”
“How can you live in Washington State your whole life and never go out on a boat?”
“It just never came up.” She laughed as we climbed into the Jeep and settled in with our munchies.
“You’re not going to freak out or throw up, are you?” I asked her.
“I dunno.” She spoke around a bite of a chocolate bar. “Maybe.”
“Great. March back inside that store and buy yourself some Dramamine. If you take it now it should kick in by the time we’re on the boat.”
She told me I was overreacting but did it anyway. Our next stop was Roscoe’s lawyer’s office. Tracey waited in the Jeep while I went inside and picked up a package of paperwork at least eight inches thick. I returned to the car with the bundle tucked under my arm, and Tracey’s eyes grew large.
“You really going to read all that?”
I blew out an exasperated breath as I started the car. “I need to know what I’m getting into.”
About forty-five minutes later we were parking at Blaine Harbor. I hefted my backpack from the back seat and we followed the directions I’d been given.
“Are you Roy?” I asked a hipster-looking guy with a bushy beard and unkempt hair.
“I am. You the dowsing girl the whole city talks about?”
“I’m Julie.” I stuck out my hand and nodded to Tracey. “This is my friend, Tracey, and she’s along for the ride.”
“Is this the thing we’re going in? It’s not going to sink, is it?” The boat she indicated was a small cabin boat that looked in perfect condition.
“Sorry. She’s never been on anything smaller than a ferry.”
Roy snickered and helped us both aboard the vessel. Tracey had a look of panic on her face but she settled down a bit once Roy handed her a life jacket and told her she could sit in the cover of the cabin while he maneuvered the boat.
“Where do you want to go?” he asked me.
“Wherever you’d toss a body if you had one you wanted to dump.”
Roy scratched his beard and gave it some thought before we headed out. When I’d called him that morning I’d told him who I was and what I was looking for. He never knew Alice or Roscoe but he knew what had happened and that most people thought Roscoe just murdered Alice then dumped her in the Pacific.
As we headed away from shore, I opened my backpack. I took out gloves and a knit cap and zipped my jacket up to my chin before taking out my dowsing rods. I took a seat near the stern, held the rods out and hoped for the best. Over the whistle of the wind in my ears I could just make out the sound of Tracey chatting nervously and nonstop to Roy.
We crisscrossed the entire Semiahmoo Bay and parts of the Strait for nearly three hours. It was the kind of fall day that made me happy I didn’t live anywhere else. The sun sparked diamonds on the crest of each wave, and the icy breeze made every inch of me feel alive.
Eventually my arms got too tired from holding the rods out and I was beginning to realize the hopelessness of this search. Her body could’ve been washed into Canada or eaten by a frickin’ orca if she’d been dumped out here. I motioned for Roy to head back. Once we were docked, I got my wallet from my pack and peeled off some bills to pay Roy for his time and fuel costs.
“Sorry it was a waste of time.” He counted out the cash in front of me. “It would’ve been kind of cool to find a body out there.”
I don’t know if “cool” was the most politically correct way to describe finding a dead person but I only nodded.
“It wasn’t a complete waste of time,” Tracey said, pulling off her life jacket. “I think I love boating. I may even need one of my own one day.”
Both Roy and I laughed as he helped us onto the dock.
“Now what?” Tracey smoothed her green-tipped hair.
We’d attracted some attention. A small crowd had gathered at the end of the pier and other boat owners were also eying us like we were performing a show just for them. I wanted to just leave, but then I thought about Alice. A fellow survivor of child abuse whose body had been tossed somewhere like trash.
They wanted a show, I’d give them a show.
“I’m going to walk the pier a little,” I told her. “Just stay here.”
I dropped my pack at her feet and took out my dowsing rods. Then I spent a good half hour slow walking the dock. It put on a good display for all those watching. I felt the stare of a dozen cell phone cameras filming and snapping pictures from about twenty yards away, but I ignored them and focused on the area. Blossom told me Roscoe had been lazy, and a lazy guy who’d just spent some time drinking might just toss a body right off the dock instead of even taking it out in a boat. Much to my disappointment and that of the onlookers, my rods never crossed to indicate a body.
“Let’s go.” I picked up my pack from Tracey’s feet. “I’m hungry.”
Tracey and I walked to the end of the pier where the clutch of gawkers parted like the Red Sea.
“You’re like the biggest celebrity they’ve got around here,” Tracey whispered to me as we headed to the Jeep.
“There’s only about four thousand people in this city so that’s not saying much.”
At the Jeep I handed Tracey my rods. “Just keep those on your lap, okay, and tell me if they twitch or anything.”
“You don’t think we’re going to drive right by a body in town without noticing, do you?” She held her hands in the air as if afraid to touch the rods.
“I don’t know what to think. The cops have used a fine-tooth comb to search the city and everywhere around here but it doesn’t hurt that I have a small advantage with my rods.”
We drove to the retro diner near the border. Just as I parked the car, my phone rang. It was the detective I knew returning my call.
“Long time no talk,” he said. “Let me guess, you want to talk to me about Roscoe Ebert.”
“Hi, Larry, I appreciate you calling me back. Did you work the case?”
“I was one of the detectives working it, and I’ve heard you’re turning the town upside down looking for her body.”
“I’m not trying to get in the way of your w
ork to find Alice’s remains,” I told him. “I’m sure you were very thorough looking for her.”
“We were, but Washington is a big state. I know some people might get their noses out of joint if you’re snooping around, but I’ve got no problem with it.”
A couple years ago Larry had called me himself when a friend of a friend was searching for a missing hiker. I’d found the body, and at that time, Larry told me I could contact him if I ever needed anything. Now was the time to call in that favor.
“Does your gut tell you Roscoe Ebert did it?”
“Ever since my ulcer I don’t trust my gut nearly as much as I used to.” He chuckled. “The evidence was stacked against him and we had no other suspects.”
“Not a single person who had a beef with Alice?”
“She was well liked,” Detective Larry said and then he added, “Roscoe, not so much.”
“Her Facebook page is still up. I’m guessing you went through her social media and didn’t find anything.”
“We went through everything except her phone. That was never recovered. Tried tracking it but no luck. I’m guessing wherever her body is, that’s where we’d find her phone. Apparently she had a sparkly red phone case so it would be hard to miss.”
“Did she store everything on her phone? Did you check to see if she had any cloud stuff?”
“Of course we did.” For a second he sounded annoyed and then he cleared his throat and continued, “She had a lot of pictures. Mostly of the dog and a few selfies. Last bunch of pictures were taken on the night she was killed.”
“And?”
“And more pictures of the damn dog. A couple blurry ones of the ground like she missed. We checked and had them blown up but there was nothing there.”
“I’m guessing you’ve talked to everyone in town about her business already but I thought I’d mention Kim told me that Alice was humping everyone in town.”
“That Kim...” I could visualize him slowly shaking her head. “Sometimes her mouth goes off before her brain functions.”
A Grave End Page 7