Gerald Long, a rail thin man with a thick head of red hair took a menacing step forward.
Martin did the same. “You boys could land yourselves in some real trouble here,” Martin said. “I should arrest all three of you just for thinking you could come out here and do our job, but I’m going to give you a chance to go home to your families and leave the police work up to the police. I already told you that Marshall has a solid alibi and that is all you need to know about it. The man isn’t at home and if he was he’d probably file charges on you for trespassing. Or worse. He might take that old shotgun his daddy left him out and fill you full of buck shot.”
All three men talked at once about what they should do. When headlights swept across the yard, everyone turned and watched as Marshall’s old truck bounced into the yard.
Moving fast, Tate stepped off the porch and hurried to the driver’s door just as Marshall Olen shoved it open. “Hold up Marshall!” Tate demanded, stepping close enough to smell the beer on Marshall’s breath.
Taking a menacing step forward, Marshall yelled around Tate at the group of men standing near his porch. “What the hell are all you people doing in my yard? Get outta my way, Echo, this is my damn house and I got a right to protect what’s mine.”
When Marshall tried to push past him, Tate slammed the big man face down on the hood of his truck, one arm twisted behind his back. Quietly he said, “Marshall, these men were just leaving. Seems they turned in at the wrong driveway. Won’t take but just a minute for me and Crawley to clear them off your property and while we do that I want you to have a seat in your truck. You got that Marshall?”
When the big man nodded, Tate released his arm and watched him walk to the door of the truck. Glaring at the three unwelcome visitors, Marshall fumed, “I see you’re damned baseball bats and I know who every one of you is. Anytime you want a piece of ol’ Marshall, you just come on back when the cops aren’t here and I’ll be happy to oblige you.”
Tate stood in the front of Marshall’s truck, as Martin shuffled the three vigilantes into their vehicle with a stern warning of what would happen if they tried anything like this again. As the tail lights of Gerald Long’s truck faded, Tate motioned to Marshall.
Marshall stepped out of the truck and brushed past without a word. Stopping at the steps he turned to look at Tate. “I let you have your fucking way this time Echo, but you can’t always be around and I owe them boys something.” Without waiting for a response Marshall walked into the house letting the door slam behind him.
Thirty minutes later, Tate pulled into the Ridge Diner closely followed by Martin in his patrol car. Stepping through the glass doors they took a booth near the door and ordered coffee.
Martin laughed, “I thought them boys was going to shit themselves when Marshall stepped out of his truck and made a beeline for them. Good thing you was there to talk him out of beating the shit out of them all, there’s no way I could have held him back on my own.”
Tate grinned over his coffee cup as he blew on the hot liquid. “Yeah, well, maybe we should have looked the other way and let him do just that. After all, that’s what they had planned for him. You confiscate their baseball bats?”
Martin took a sip from his own cup.“Got ‘em in the back of my patrol car right now. Told them boys that they better hope nothing bad happened to Marshall in the near future or I’d be out to pay them a visit. You get anywhere with the investigation today?”
“Nothing significant. I did spend several hours this morning searching the Department of Criminal Investigation records to see if there were any reported cases with similarities to the Parker case. Nothing logged that compares. I need that damned DNA report. ”
“Well the DCI does maintain the largest database of records in South Dakota,” Martin said, “but we both know that not all the small town forces report things like they should.”
Tate sighed, “I knew it was a long shot, but I had to look. Also checked the unrestricted FBI case files with no luck. Made another trip by Parker’s house just to check the perimeter, we had a report of kids sneaking in to look at the scene. While I was there I picked up her laptop. Found it under a stack of papers that she appeared to have been grading. System is password protected and I turned it over to the county lab to have them extract emails and a list of websites she accessed recently or anything else that might prove helpful.”
Leaning back in the booth, Tate said, “Thanks to the hair follicle test, we know that she wasn’t a regular smoker and we know when the weed got in her system. I still believe that the Ketamine was a gift from the killer. Daniel Westhaven called and confirmed no reported cases at County Hospital involving Ketamine which pushes me to believe that I’m right about the killer using it to subdue her.”
Rising to leave, Martin tossed a five dollar bill on the table and slid his hat on.“Tonight proves that the locals are like a splinter festering under the skin, just waiting to bust. They’re running scared on this and tonight won’t be the only call that we have to take where some dumb ass tries to take justice into his own hands. I really think you should talk to the press, get them on your side and make a statement to the public. Give it some thought okay?”
Tate watched Martin climb into his patrol car. You know he’s right, Echo. You’ve got to let the town know that you’re on their side before this gets out of hand.
Reaching for his cap, Tate slipped another five under his cup and left the diner.
CHAPTER 9
Reaching the trailhead, Gavin picked up his pace and quickly covered the short distance back to his cabin. Rushing inside, he dropped his backpack then flung his cap onto the bed. He flipped his laptop open, and slid his finger across the ID reader. Clicking the remote camera icon, he had a clear view of the happy family searching for the hidden geocache.
Gavin turned up the volume, then swore, “Damn, I should have found a closer place for the camera so that I could hear them better.”
Laughing, the dark-haired woman stared up at her husband. “That guy scared about ten years off my life. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be out here. Guess I should have known that we weren’t the only ones at the lake who’d do some caching this weekend.”
“Yeah, well, I think we scared him, too.” The man replied. He was in a big hurry to get back to the campground.” Glancing at the boys, he shrugged, “Probably had someone waiting for him.” Both boys studied the GPS that their dad held and stepped toward the cache site.
Turning several rocks over, they soon chimed in unison, “Found it!”
Gavin watched the man pull the plastic container free from its hiding spot then pull the top off. The wife reached over him, grabbing the log book out of the container. Dropping to his knees, the man sat the cache down on the ground so the boys could see the contents.
With his eyes glued to his monitor, Gavin watched the smaller of the two boys pull the coin out and hold it up for his father to see.
“Look, Dad! Can I take it?”
Reaching out for the coin, the man turned it over in his hand. “Well, it doesn’t appear to be a travel bug. Very unusual coin though. Sure, I guess you can take it, just be sure to leave something of yours in return.”
Grinning, the little boy pulled an orange and yellow fishing bobber out of his pocket and dropped it into the plastic container. The man watched as his younger son dodged his brother, who had reached out to snatch the coveted prize from him.
“No fighting boys,” the woman admonished with a grin. “You can both take one thing as long as you leave something in return.” She turned to her husband who was putting the cache back in its hiding spot. “We’d better get a move on if we’re going to take the boat out before dinner.” Holding hands, the couple moved away from the clearing, the boys followed.
Gavin watched the family leave the clearing and step out of the camera’s range. He smiled and whispered, “Let the chase begin.” A couple of seconds passed before a second window popped up on Gavin’s computer screen. T
his one showed a small area map with a lighted cursor bobbing along the trail toward the campground. “That tracking coin is the smartest thing you’ve come up with yet Gav, and this gig with the State and National Parks system has been the best hunting ground you’ve ever had.”
A three year contract with the State of South Dakota to install and monitor wi-fi in all its State and National parks gave him the access he needed to the cachers he wanted. The game had become so much more interesting.
Gavin grabbed a bottled beer from the mini-fridge, and stopped at the mirror. “Gavin you are one smart son of a bitch. That little family has no clue that they are carrying the one thing that will lead me right to their front door.” Sitting back on the worn plaid sofa in the room, he propped his feet on the coffee table, took a long draw from his beer and continued to watch his monitor.
CHAPTER 10
At Tate’s request, the KCKY News van was back in the parking lot of the courthouse. Standing at the top of the steps, he watched as the rooftop antenna attached to the van rose skyward and the shaggy-haired cameraman hoisted his camera onto a tripod and bent to adjust the focus. He walked toward the crew and took a deep breath, knowing that the camera followed him as he made his descent. Tate stopped at the bottom step and waited for the talking head from the television station to reach him.
Wes Lively smiled a plastic smile and motioned for the cameraman to zoom in for a close-up. “This is Wes Lively with KCKY News, live at the Shannon County Courthouse where we’re talking to Chief of Police Tate Echo. Chief Echo, we at KCKY want to thank you for meeting with us today. We understand that you have some information to share regarding the recent homicide of Saralyn Parker.”
Facing the camera, Tate tried not to scowl. “The investigation is open and specific details continue to be confidential at this time. The Shannon County Sherriff’s office is working closely with the city offices and by utilizing the manpower provided by Shannon County, we have doubled our taskforce on this investigation. I want to assure the residents of Pine Ridge that we are committed to solving this murder and that when an arrest is imminent, we will let the community know.”
The newsman broke into Tate’s prepared statement. “Chief Echo, do you have any suspects at this time? When do you expect an arrest?”
Tate scowled at the man. “As I stated when we spoke last week, this is an open investigation and there are sensitive details that would compromise the case should they be released too early into the investigation. My statement to the community is that while this appears to be an isolated incident, we should all remain vigilant. Keep your doors locked and your eyes open for any suspicious activity or people and report those to the police or sheriff’s department. Do not make any attempt to approach any person or persons involved in what you might consider suspicious activity. Do not attempt to take matters into your own hands in any way. This killer is unstable and dangerous.” Tate reached to shake hands with Wes, signaling that the interview was over. Surprisingly, Wes took the hint.
Tate made his way up the steps, into the courthouse and his office. The voicemail light on his phone already blinked a steady red.
CHAPTER 11
Settling in on the small front porch of his cabin, Gavin sipped a beer and leaned against the faded wooden railing. The sun drifted low over the lake; he admired its red and orange rays kissing the smooth surface and fading into the water below. The smell of charcoal fires filled the air, mixing with the aroma of pine and cedar. Somewhere in the distance he heard kids laughing as they played. As night fell on the campground, voices muted and faded as campers moved inside, settling in for the night.
“Almost time,” he whispered and went inside to check his computer monitor for any changes. The green cursor blinking on his screen was stationary at a location just down the hill from his cabin. “So close.” Smiling, he closed the computer. “Ready or not here I come.”
His cap on and backpack over one shoulder, Gavin stepped into the blackness of the night. Darkness and shadows wrapped around him, offering an eerie welcome. He slowed his steps so that anyone watching would assume that he was just another camper out for an evening stroll to the docks. Gavin slowly moved down the hill to the cabins at the lake’s edge.
As the cabins came into view, he slid closer to the tree line and the protection of the sweeping branches that hung low to the ground. Settling into the woods behind cabin number three, Gavin planned to do some reconnaissance on the happy little family that he’d met earlier in the day. A few minutes later, the man and woman from the cache site stepped out onto the porch. Still holding hands, they walked a short distance to the faded wooden pier that ran out over the lake. In the daylight, the pier served as a dry place to fish and at night, Gavin supposed, it was a romantic place to take a walk.
“They are too freaking cute,” he mumbled. “Too bad the little momma didn’t take my coin.” Gavin watched as the couple moved farther away from their cabin and then stepped from the shadows, adjusted his backpack and casually walked to the door of the cabin.
Just a fellow camper out for a neighborly visit. He’d long ago learned that people tend to overlook the obvious. As long as you looked like you belong, then people would assume that you did. Listening at the door he smiled at the silence that greeted him. Gavin slowly turned the door knob and entered the family’s cabin, quietly closing the door behind him. “Aw, look at that.”
The boys were asleep in bunk beds tucked into a corner at the back of the cabin. The older boy was on the top bunk, his back turned on the room. On the bottom bunk the smaller of the two slept soundly on one side, his legs curled tightly against his body and one arm hanging half off the bed. A sliver of light peeking from a barely open bathroom door bathed the small room with its soft muted light.
“Little guy must be afraid of the dark,” he whispered, recalling that his mother had always left the bathroom light on for him at that age. Sliding closer, Gavin smiled when he saw his coin resting in the little boy’s open hand. He greedily plucked the token out of the child’s hand, squeezing it tightly for a minute before he traced the etched design with one finger. A breath that he hadn’t known he was holding pushed its way out of his lungs. “It’s still warm with his heat. I love it.”
Bending over the sleeping child, he lifted the small boy gently and placed him on one shoulder. The boy settled in and snuggled close as if he had been carried just this way a million times. The child sighed, one small arm tightening around Gavin’s neck. Gavin rubbed his free hand across the child’s back soothing both the hunter and the prey.
Gavin left the cabin and slid into the darkness, taking the same trail through the underbrush that he’d walked just this morning.
Less than an hour later and freshly showered, Gavin sat in a weathered Adirondack chair, propping one foot up on the porch railing of his cabin. He watched the park entrance and wasn’t surprised when two Shannon County Sheriff’s cars sped through the gate.
“Down the hill they go to cabin three and two very distraught parents, probably still holding hands.” Laughing at his own little joke, Gavin twisted the top off of a bottle of water and took a swig before leaning back in his chair. He ran a hand over his still wet hair as he waited for the show to continue.
Minutes later, Gavin leaned forward, as the headlights of another vehicle swept past the park gate. This one, a pickup sporting the South Dakota Parks service logo was closely followed by a small SUV with a door emblem proclaiming it to be the Shannon County K-9 unit.
The park became a beehive of activity with campers stumbling from their cabins to see what was going on. Gavin didn’t move from his perch as spotlights swept back and forth through the trees casting shadows. He smiled, enjoying the show as police officials and concerned campers made what he knew were futile efforts to look for the missing child.
Leading the group, a short and stocky female agent held what appeared to be piece of clothing in one hand and the leash of a very large dog in the other. Catching the sce
nt of something important, the dog made a loud sound somewhere between a bark and a howl. The massive beast took off causing a commotion as he pulled the woman handler along with several members of the search party following at a brisk pace. Letting out another bark-howl the dog took the same path around the lake that Gavin had taken twice that day.
“It won’t be long now,” Gavin stood to go inside. “Better get inside Gav, because you’re going to want a good seat once the show begins.” As he’d predicted, it wasn’t long at all. He stared at his laptop screen and heard the barking dog and people calling the kid’s name through his computer speaker. He encouraged them as if it were a sporting event, “Just a little further. You’re almost there.” He got the primo seat to watch it all in living, or dying as the case was, color. Gavin knew the exact instant that the boy had been found.
Eyes glued to the screen, Gavin watched the old sheriff lead the boy’s father over to ID the body then saw the man nod his head and turn away to walk back to his wife who stood at the edge of the clearing. The man leaned in close and said something to her. The woman’s scream filled the small cabin and sent an excited chill down Gavin’s back as she pulled away from the man and pushed her way past two county officers. She fell on the ground at her son’s side, her cries tearing into the still night.
Gavin gasped, mocking compassion. “How touching.” Two deputies pulled the woman up and away from the boy’s small body and lead her back to her husband. One deputy stood with the couple while a second deputy stepped away, pulled a roll of yellow tape from his jacket, and then roped the crime scene off. The search team was forced out of the clearing by one of the deputies and out of Gavin’s limited camera view. That left only the old sheriff standing near the body, solemnly guarding the lifeless child.
In the upper right corner of the computer screen, Gavin saw the man still trying to console his wife. Reaching over to his keyboard and pushing a button Gavin centered on and enlarged the couple on his screen. He stared at the woman, “Not so happy now, huh? Sorry about that, but he did take my coin.”
Caching Out Page 5