by Rick Polad
It was Paul’s first time in Door County, so we showed him the sights, from the lighthouses to the goats on the roof of Al Johnson’s restaurant. But we also did a lot of sitting on the deck. That was something I could do forever. As the sun tracked across the sky, the colors of the water and the shadows through the trees constantly changed. All but one of us enjoyed the sights and sounds of Moonlight Bay.
The only news we had of the case were calls from the captain and Iverson. Green Bay had fired a bullet from Victoria’s gun and sent it to Chicago. Snark must have hated that, but the department had the other two bullets. All of the bullets matched—they were all from Victoria’s gun. Iverson told me that the search of Victoria’s car had turned up another gun, a .38. It had been fired, and hers were the only prints on it. I asked if the house search found the file from the agency. He said nothing of importance had been found.
Stosh spent most of his deck time napping. We were doing exactly that when my phone rang Thursday afternoon. It was Iverson.
“What are you doing, Spencer?”
“My favorite thing—nothing.”
“How would you like to do not nothing?”
I looked out at the bay through the large picture window. “That would depend.”
“A hiker found a body.”
“Ah, trouble is picking up in paradise. But I’ve had my share of bodies for a while. Why don’t you take care of this one yourself? I don’t need a new case.”
“That’s the trouble… it’s not a new case. It’s Mrs. Bell.”
He let that sink in while I mentally said goodbye to my bay.
“Okay, tell me.”
“The call came in twenty minutes ago. A woman hiker found a body in the growth off a path. She saw what looked like a leg sticking out from under the bushes. Not only did it look like a leg… it was. She didn’t want to see any more and called us. My officer was there in ten minutes and identified her from her driver’s license.”
“Where?”
“That’s the ironic part of this. Ten minutes from you… the Ridges.”
The Ridges was a nature sanctuary with hiking trails that was best known for its many species of orchids. I wondered for a few seconds about why Victoria had chosen a location so close to me. And Iverson’s ten minutes was an exaggeration… it was more like five.
“I assume you’ve notified Snark.”
“Yes, he’s sending Dunsley. He’ll be here in about an hour.”
“Well, that’ll be fun.”
“He won’t be happy to see you either, but this is his case.”
“Unfortunately for Mrs. Bell.”
“Play nice, Spencer.”
***
I asked Paul if he wanted to join us and got an enthusiastic yes. Rosie got Stosh as I got ready. We took Paul’s rental. The back seat of the Mustang was pretty tight.
There were three police cars and an ambulance in the lot at the visitor’s center. I showed my ID to the officer stationed at the start of the path, and he told us it was about a ten-minute walk. The day was warmer than usual, and the air was heavy without a breeze. The temperature immediately dropped as we entered the forest, and the change in humidity was noticeable. I told them all about the orchids, and pointed out several species along the way. There were thirty-three species in Door County, and twenty-five had been found in the sanctuary. May and June were the prime growing months.
“This would be a beautiful walk if it weren’t for the reason,” said Rosie.
The afternoon sun was filtering through the trees, and a heavy smell of plants and pollen was in the air.
After about five minutes a woman passed us walking back to the parking lot. She looked upset and just nodded at us without saying hello.
Iverson, two officers, and two paramedics were standing on the path. He said hello and pointed into the trees. It took me a few seconds to find the foot.
“That’s not real obvious,” I said. “How did your hiker find that?”
“She was looking for orchids, so was looking at the undergrowth.”
“I assume that was her we passed on the trail.”
“Yeah, I got all she had, which was very little, and told her Dunsley would be contacting her.”
“Mind if I look at the body?”
“Go ahead. But Snark told me not to touch anything until Dunsley got here, so be careful.”
I walked to the body and took a minute to look around. Some of the vegetation was broken, but there had been several people walking to the body since it had been put there. The vegetation and undergrowth within a few feet of the path was low to the ground. It got thicker and taller as it led into the pine trees where the body was. There wasn’t a path of broken vegetation, so the body had been carried rather than dragged to where it was.
I pushed back the branches that were over her body and looked without touching. She was lying on her back and wearing a white blouse and blue slacks. There were two bullet entrance holes in the white blouse with dried brown patches around the holes. I wanted to move her arm to see if rigor mortis was present, but I didn’t have gloves, and I decided to wait for Dunsley before I touched her. As I was looking, a maggot crawled out of her nose.
Chapter 36
Dunsley and his evidence tech and another detective arrived forty minutes later. He gave me a look that told me what he thought of me and then ignored me. He turned to Iverson.
“What’s he doing here?” he asked.
“I invited him,” said Iverson.
Evidently Dunsley didn’t argue with chiefs. He just nodded.
“Who’s the rest of these people?”
Iverson introduced Stosh and Paul. He didn’t bother shaking hands.
“Has the body been disturbed, Chief?”
“Not since we’ve been here.”
“Where’s the lady who found her?”
“Wasn’t sure when you’d get here, so I told her she could leave. My officer has a statement, and you can talk to her anytime.”
He nodded and looked at his tech. “Let’s have a look.”
As they walked into the woods, Rosie came over and stood next to me. “You don’t need to ask… same pants.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
“I’m going to keep it to myself that you’re fixated on another guy’s pants.”
I laughed. Stosh and Iverson followed Dunsley into the woods.
The tech took several photos and then Dunsley started clearing branches and undergrowth from the body.
“Jesus!” Dunsley yelled. “There’s maggots on her face!”
Rosie, Paul, and I walked closer to get a better look. “You new at this, Dunsley?” I managed not to smile.
He was still trying to ignore me.
Her head was turned with the left side to the ground. Dunsley knelt next to her and rolled her head straight. There were more maggots in and around her left ear and on the ground. He had rolled her head easily, so no rigor mortis, which under normal conditions takes three days or so to leave the body.
Dunsley jumped up. “That’s disgusting!”
No one responded.
“Hey Dunsley,” I said. “You going to collect the maggots?”
“Why the hell would I want to do that?”
“They’re evidence.”
He shook his head. “Thanks for inviting him, Chief. He’s a big help.”
I took that as a no.
“Well, that wraps this up. What a shame,” Dunsley said. “At least we got the murderer.”
The tech took more photos, and the other detective took notes. They finished a half hour later, and Dunsley walked back to the path and told the paramedics they could take the body. The other detective helped the tech pack up his gear.
I leaned over to Iverson and asked him to keep Dunsley busy for a minute. As the paramedics walked to the body, I followed. I held up a finger and moved in front of them, making them a shield between the body and Dunsley. I kneeled and unbuttoned the top two buttons of Mrs. Bell’s blouse
. I wanted to see the entry holes. They were closed over and surrounded by the same dark brown colored dried blood that was on her blouse. I stood, nodded to them, and walked back to the path where Dunsley was talking to Iverson.
Rosie and Paul had moved ten feet to the side where they could watch what I was doing.
“Whenever you’re ready, Chief,” I said to Iverson.
The five of us left Dunsley and his crew standing on the path. We were quiet until we rounded a few corners and were well out of hearing range.
“What a shame that all this beauty has to be spoiled by humans,” I said.
“That man is an idiot,” Paul said.
“No argument here,” replied Stosh. “And he’ll take all of the credit for solving the crime.”
“He probably will,” I said. “Too bad the crime isn’t solved.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Stosh asked.
“Victoria didn’t do this.”
Chapter 37
I refused to talk until we were back on the deck with a beverage of choice. Stosh’s wasn’t his first choice, but he made do. I had time to think about Mrs. Bell on the way back, and I hadn’t changed my mind. The pieces just didn’t fit.
“So, please relieve the suspense,” Iverson said.
I took a drink. “Victoria killed two people, or at least she thought she did, by walking up to them and pulling the trigger. In Stosh’s case, that was a person about a foot taller than her and much bigger. She knew where they were and sought them out. How would she have known Mrs. Bell would be at the sanctuary? That wasn’t something that was planned. Even her own husband was surprised she wasn’t home to greet him.”
Iverson spoke up. “Maybe it was just coincidence. We already know Petrace was up here and was probably familiar with the peninsula. Maybe she came back and happened to run into Bell and then followed her.”
“Those maybes might be valid,” I said, “except for the fact that Mrs. Bell wasn’t killed at the sanctuary.”
Even the birds were silent.
“So where was she killed?” Stosh asked.
“No clue. My crystal ball is broken too. But wherever it was it was somewhere else, and she was moved.”
“Why do you think that?” asked Iverson.
“I don’t think it, I know it.”
Rosie came over and gave me a hug.
“What’s that for?” I asked.
She smiled. “That’s because I know how you know! You’re a genius.”
“Let’s not get crazy here,” said Stosh. “I’ve got enough problems with him. How about one of you lets us in on the secret?”
Rosie looked at me. “Maggots?”
“Maggots.”
“Maggots?” asked Stosh. “What the hell are you talking about? What do maggots have to do with anything?”
“Everything,” I said. “There were maggots in her nose and ears. They like body fluids and soft tissue.”
“Dunsley was right,” Stosh said. “That is disgusting. But so what?”
“So, there were no maggots on her chest. The wounds had closed, and the blood had dried. If she had been shot at the sanctuary there would have been maggots in the wound, and they would have kept it open. She was shot somewhere else and moved to the sanctuary.”
“I’ve never heard that before,” said Iverson. “But it might make sense. How do you know that?”
“Read a book about it... The Stories Insects Tell. There’s a scientist in Hawaii researching how bodies are affected by bugs and insects. It’s pretty fascinating.”
“Sounds pretty crazy,” Stosh said. “You care to explain?”
Paul was sitting with his eyes closed, listening to every word.
“He has found that certain insects show up at different stages of a decaying body. Flies depend on decaying matter for food. A decaying body is a feast. They’re very aggressive and can show up minutes after death if a body is exposed to the elements. They like warm moist areas to lay their eggs, like body orifices. We all saw the maggots on her head. Why weren’t there any on the wound?”
With his eyes still closed, Paul said, “Because there weren’t any flies where she was shot, like indoors.”
“Right. But even indoors the flies would eventually find her. So she must have been somewhere where the flies couldn’t get at her.”
“Like the trunk of a car,” Rosie said.
I raised my bottle to her. “Like the trunk of a car, which would make sense because she had to be moved from wherever she was shot to the sanctuary.”
“So why not Petrace?” Iverson asked.
“Two reasons. Because the flies find a body almost immediately and lay their eggs, and then it only takes a day or so for the maggots to hatch. So she had to have been put there within the last three or four days.”
“Your logic fell apart, Spencer,” said Rosie.
I finished a long drink and shook my head. “No. It’s just missing a piece. This is all about the food chain. The maggots feed on the decaying body. Then within another couple of days the second wave arrives to feed on the maggots.”
They all looked at me expectantly.
“Beetles. And there weren’t any beetles there yet. So Mrs. Bell was moved to the sanctuary sometime after Monday at the earliest. And Victoria was killed Saturday night. She could have shot her, but she sure didn’t move her.”
“You can tell all that from bugs?” asked Stosh.
“Yup, and a few other things like air temperature and rain and soil content. With those we could narrow it down even more.”
“Well then do that,” said Stosh.
“Our scientist in Hawaii could—I can’t.”
A motor started up at my neighbor’s dock.
“You said there are two reasons it couldn’t be Petrace,” Iverson said. “What’s the second?”
“She’s not big enough. Mrs. Bell was carried, at least part of the way. Someone picked her up and put her into a trunk and then took her out. She’s about my height. That would either take someone a lot bigger and stronger than Victoria, or she had help. And she’s been a solo act with everything else.”
Stosh got up to get another beer. “Anybody want another?”
I was the only taker. When he got back, I said, “And there’s a third reason. I asked her where Mrs. Bell was. She had no idea what I was talking about.”
“So when was she shot?” Iverson asked.
“Don’t know. I can only tell you a timeframe for when she was put there. Dunsley was easily able to move her head, so rigor mortis was gone. It starts within a few hours of death and is full within two or so days. Within four to six days it’s gone. So she was killed sometime between Thursday and Sunday. My guess would be Thursday night. Why keep someone alive and give them a chance to escape?”
“So rigor tells us when she was killed, and the bugs tell us when she was moved,” Rosie said.
“Exactly.”
“So who killed her?” Stosh asked.
“Good question,” I said. “Who has a motive?” They were all quiet. “This has all been about a baby. Maybe it still is.”
“How sure are you about all of this, Spencer?” Iverson asked.
“About the things I’ve told you? Positive. There’s no doubt that Mrs. Bell was killed somewhere else and moved to the sanctuary and that Victoria couldn’t have done that. She shot Mrs. Maxwell and Stosh, and she may have shot Mrs. Bell, but I doubt it. It makes more sense that the person who moved her shot her.”
“So how do we find that person?”
“Keep shaking the trees. And one of the trees I’d like to shake is your breakfast buddy, Chief.”
“He’s not going to like that.”
“You said you think he’s a standup guy, right?”
“Yup.”
“You think he’d cover up something?”
He shook his head. “No. He’s not happy about outsiders telling him what to do, but he’s after the truth as much as we are.”
I raised my bottle. “Then let’s go shake his tree.” I finished off the bottle.
“When do you want to do that?”
“Well, I’d like to talk with Mr. Bell first. I’ll do that tomorrow morning. Could you set up a meeting with Snark for the afternoon? There’s some pieces missing. Maybe I’ll get something from Mr. Bell. If not, I’ll just ask questions, one of which will be why Dunsley lied about his time with Peters.”
“Sure. I’ll give him a call. Should I tell him you’re coming?”
I laughed. “Let’s keep that a secret until we walk in the door.”
“He’s not going to be happy with me.”
“Welcome to the club. I’ll let you know if I get anything from Bell.”
***
We all went out for dinner and talked about the case. Rosie, Paul, and I continued that talk as we sat on the deck watching twilight turn into night. Our resident loon was having a conversation with the crickets.
We went over my timeline several times trying to find a flaw. When we couldn’t find one, we talked about who could have killed Mrs. Bell and decided that lawsuits tend to ramp things up a bit.
Chapter 38
Rosie and I got to the Bell’s house by nine thirty. Mr. Bell was anxious to help. We offered our condolences. He assured us that his wife would not have gone to the sanctuary without telling him. That was a place she loved to visit in the spring, and they had talked about going, but she had assured him she was going to be home for lunch. That was all I was looking for from Mr. Bell. I was satisfied. We spent the next hour just talking… he was glad for the company.
As we were pulling out of the drive, the phone rang. It was Iverson. I parked at the curb.
“We’ve got a meeting at one,” he said. “Have you seen Bell?”
“We just left there. I’m satisfied that there was no way his wife went to the sanctuary willingly.”
“Yeah, that seemed likely.”
“I just wanted to be sure.”
“Right. Here’s something else. When I was setting up the meeting, Snark told me they got the ballistics back on the bullets that killed Mrs. Bell. They’re a match to Victoria’s .38.”
I looked at Rosie and smiled.
“Does that help any, Spencer?”