Shadow Canyon

by Vickie McKeehan

  “I understand that. And it weighs heavily on your shoulders. I’m just trying to help you out, not hinder you.”

  “I get that. How about if I drive you to the station, you stay in my office and read the file while I go see Denise. Then when I get back, we’ll discuss what’s there.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Denise Coolidge was a single mom with two kids who worked at her family’s grocery store called Two Sisters’ Food Mart. She was at checkout when she saw Lando walk through the double glass doors and head right for her checkout stand.

  Lando eyed the pretty brunette who was checking out Janet Delgado.

  “Adam told me you’d probably want to talk. Adam and I are cousins. I’m not sure a lot of people know that.”

  “Yeah. I’m aware. Is there some place we can talk privately?”

  “Don’t mind me, Chief. Go right ahead and talk,” Janet suggested. “I’ve still got half a cart to unload.”

  “That’s okay, Mrs. Delgado. I can wait for Denise to finish up.”

  Denise snickered. “No problem. I’ll get Joan to cover for me while I take my break. Meet me in the breakroom in ten minutes.”

  True to her word, Denise appeared ten minutes later at the back of the store where her aunts had added a little room with a table and chairs and a refrigerator. Carrying a can of Diet Coke and a bag of Cheetos, she took a seat at the table.

  “You know why I’m here. Adam says you saw Dale talking to Mallory the night she was killed. Why don’t you walk me through what you saw?”

  “Nothing much. The festival had just wrapped, and I was bone-tired from running after my kids and working a double shift the night before. On top of that, I still had to work that Sunday night until closing. I’d bought a jug of milk and several boxes of cereal and was toting them out to my car when I heard loud voices coming from the end of the parking lot. I look over in the dark and what do I see? That no-good Dale Hooper having a row with his girlfriend right in front of me. It pissed me off.”

  “Why?”

  “Why? Oh, jeez. Don’t tell me you’re one more person in the dark about us. Fine. I can see by your face you didn’t have a clue. Last spring Dale came sniffing around and stupid me thought he might be serious about having a relationship. I even let him spend the night a couple of times when my ex had the kids. Next thing I know he’s going out with Mallory Rawlins behind my back. I told him if that dyed platinum hair is what he wanted, then he shouldn’t bother coming around me and my kids anymore. And then that Sunday night I see them arguing.”

  “Didn’t it make you happy that they weren’t getting along?”

  Denise popped the top on her soda and sighed. “Maybe a little. Okay, a lot. But it did make me realize those two deserved each other. Fine by me.”

  “Was the argument physical? By that I mean…”

  “I know what physical means, Chief. My ex wasn’t exactly the calm type in a fight. And yes, Dale had her by both arms and he was screaming at her to listen. But Mallory wasn’t having any of that. You know Mallory. She was right up in his face, going toe to toe about something. Right then, I thought to myself that I’d lucked out. That’s a side to Dale that he didn’t show me those few weeks we were together. But at least I’m glad I saw it for myself. Otherwise… Because now I know there’s no future for us. None at all.”

  “Had he indicated there might be?”

  “We’d been talking again during that first week after he screwed up. After taking Mallory out on that date and getting caught, he seemed remorseful about it. We even talked this past Sunday night about taking up where we left off. He called me very late, woke me up to talk about getting back together.”

  “When he was on duty?”

  “Yep. He was begging me for another chance and I kept saying no. He wasn’t happy about my answer.”

  “I have to ask this next question. Don’t take it the wrong way. But were you so angry with Mallory because of what she did with Dale that you could’ve killed her?”

  For the first time Denise’s lips curved up. “No way. Mallory’s not worth it. My way of thinking is this, Chief. If Dale was stupid enough to get mixed up with her, then let them at each other for the long haul. I don’t want any part of a guy who finds Mallory attractive. My kids are the most important thing to me right now. Don’t get me wrong, Chief. I liked Dale. I do. I liked him just fine. But I need a man who doesn’t cheat every chance he gets just because he can. I had that with my ex and I’m not going back to those days, not for anybody. He could look like Brad Pitt for all I care, and I’m not interested if he can’t stay home with me at night.”

  “Good for you. Stick to that and...”

  “I’ll spend my old age alone…probably,” Denise finished for him. “But a girl’s got to take care of herself and her kids first. I don’t go putting any man before that.”

  Lando awkwardly patted her hand. “You’ll find someone who deserves you, wait and see.”

  Denise stared at the wall behind Lando’s head. “I’m not sure that kind of man exists. But I sure don’t intend to be anyone’s chump ever again.”

  Gemma sat in Lando’s office with Jane Doe’s file folder spread out, so she didn’t miss a line. Information was scant. It was as if the young woman barely existed. It was the autopsy that held the most clues. The coroner estimated her age at no more than fourteen years. She’d died from asphyxiation. She had a purple ring around her neck where a rope or a chord had been used to strangle her to death.

  “What could a young girl have done to make someone so angry?” Gemma wondered aloud.

  Her head was still buried in the document when Lando walked in. “Have you solved Jane Doe’s case yet?”

  “Very funny. Have you solved Mallory’s?” she shot back.

  “Did you know Dale had been dating Denise since last spring?”

  “Hmm. Well, I saw her sitting in the audience once at the bar, looking adoringly up at him while he was on stage. Does that count?”

  “Dale broke that girl’s heart.”

  “What? Are you telling me Dale went out with Mallory when he could’ve been with Denise Coolidge? What was the guy thinking? Denise is so…”

  “The opposite of Mallory?”

  “Exactly. Why do men prefer that makeup-laden, face-painted, faux artificial hair when they could have a perfectly darling brunette. I’m so disappointed in Dale.”

  “Not half as much as I am. I have to spend tonight grilling him about where he was, especially since Denise says the argument she heard got physical. He needs an alibi and I don’t think he has one.”

  “Wow. He went from dating Mallory once to going out with her more than that to arguing with her the night she died. How did we get here, Lando?”

  “Simple. Dale lied. What have you learned about Jane Doe?”

  “Not much. Did Caulfield look for any missing persons back then? Because there’s not a single notation in the file that he ever sent out an inquiry.”

  “I don’t think Caulfield did a damn thing except get the girl buried. Once I read the file, back seven years ago, I put out feelers to other law enforcement agencies, going first statewide and then national. Got inquiries back but nothing that matched her description or her age.”

  “Does that mean she was a runaway?”

  “Not necessarily. Caulfield could’ve put down the description wrong. It’s not unheard of when you do sloppy work.”

  “But a forensic anthropologist could use facial reconstruction to create a composite drawing. I read about it on my phone while you were out.”

  “The exorbitant cost for that is more than our little town could pay.”

  “But she needs to be identified, brought back to her family, wherever it is.”

  “I’m not arguing with that.”

  “What if I found a way to raise the money for it? Would you agree to exhuming her remains for the facial reconstruction? I’d suggest using these autopsy photos but they aren’t all that great.
I mean, just look at the angle. You can’t even tell what her face looks like the way they took the picture.”

  “I noticed that. Sure. If you find the bucks for it, absolutely. We’ll exhume her remains and hope for the best.”

  16

  It left a hole in his gut, or maybe it was his heart, to suspect a friend he’d known forever of murder. But he had a job to do.

  After supper, Lando headed to the station, his anger bubbling underneath the surface the closer he got. Once he pulled up and parked, he had to get himself under control.

  Taking several deep breaths, by the time he walked into the lobby, his temper had calmed down enough to question his best friend and band mate and someone he’d trusted.

  He found an unsuspecting Dale sitting behind the front desk with his feet propped up in an incline position. “Slow night?” Lando asked.

  Dale immediately brought his chair upright. “Chief, what are you doing here? Is everything okay? I didn’t hear anything over the radio.”

  “I need to see you in my office,” Lando directed as he waited for Dale to walk ahead of him down the hallway. “And everything is definitely not okay. I had to calm down just on the ride over here. Do you know why?”

  Lando moved behind his desk, only to spot Dale already beginning to sweat.

  “You found out I talked to Mallory the night she died. And you’re pissed.”

  “Shows, huh? I just want to know why you couldn’t be man enough to tell me yourself. Why lie unless you were trying to hide the fact that you killed her?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Convince me.”

  “Mallory’s a hard woman to say no to. She kept bugging me to go out with her.”

  “Even after you’d started dating Denise?”

  “You know about Denise, huh? I screwed up there. Now Denise won’t even give me the time of day, let alone a second chance.”

  “Yeah, your love life is in the crapper, but that doesn’t help me understand how you got involved with Mallory.”

  “One Saturday night not long after I started dating Denise, Mallory shows up at the bar. She hangs around the stage, but I don’t think much about it until later. I’m in the parking lot loading up my speakers and equipment in the back of my truck and she starts crawling all over me, telling me how much she enjoyed the music, how much she’d always wanted to be with a musician. By this time, I’d had a couple of beers…maybe more…and…well…Denise had her kids that night.”

  “She couldn’t get a sitter so that was a built-in excuse to cheat on her. Is that it?”

  Dale’s face turned a shade of red. “I guess it was. Anyway, I took Mallory back to my place. You know the routine. I tried to break it off with her the next day, reminding her that we had nothing in common. But she refused to go away. Then, Denise found out. You know how? Mallory walked right up to her at the checkout stand at the grocery store and told her everything. Denise couldn’t break up with me fast enough. I was furious with Mallory and kept trying to track her down just so I could tell her to knock it off. I finally spotted her that Sunday night walking from the store. I had it out with her then and there and told her to leave me alone, that I didn’t want anything else to do with her. You know what she did? She laughed in my face and said she was no longer interested. The damage had been done. And she didn’t care if I’d lost Denise over it.”

  “Perfect, now you’ve handed me the motive. What time was that?”

  “Nine-ten to nine-twenty maybe.”

  “At least that jives with the witness statement I have.”

  “There was a witness?”

  “Oh yeah. The coroner says Mallory was murdered sometime between ten and eleven o’clock. You see how bad this looks, Dale. Where were you during that timeframe?”

  “I told you where I was the Monday after it happened when you asked me the first time. We’d all been pulling double shifts for three straight days during the festival. I was exhausted like everyone else. I finished up patrol and went home. Jimmy will vouch for the time I went off the clock.”

  “Okay, but you also told me that you’d only gone out with Mallory one time. That was a lie. So why should I believe you now?”

  “Because I’m telling you the truth. At ten o’clock I radioed Louise that I was headed home. Jimmy overheard my signoff because he radioed back that he was also on his way home. Once I reached my apartment, I cut the TV on and watched the A’s game that I’d DVR’d. Feeling like a total loser, I grabbed myself a beer and wallowed in a good dose of self-pity about how Mallory had played me. I’d lost Denise and I was upset about that. I tried to watch the ballgame until the A’s ace pitcher got rocked for four runs in the third inning and I lost interest. I must’ve fallen asleep on the sofa after that. Next thing I know it’s morning and my cell phone is lighting up with a call from Payce telling me that we had a situation on the beach. Mallory was dead and…and then all hell broke loose.”

  Lando slumped over his desk and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m gonna need your DVR. It might’ve just saved you from a murder rap. But in the meantime, this isn’t exactly a tough call, Dale. As of this moment, you’re suspended with pay until this investigation is finished.”

  “But we’re already short-handed. What will you do for officers?”

  “I’ve already asked Zeb to loan me a couple of his men. I need your service weapon, your police ID and your badge.”

  Dale hung his head but obliged by handing over his Glock and police credentials. “I’m sorry I disappointed you.”

  “Yeah. So am I.”

  Gemma settled into bed to wait for Lando and clicked on the radio. Tonight, the local station, KYOT, planned a tribute to 90s rock. From eight to nine, it was the Pearl Jam hour followed by Green Day. Gemma didn’t want to miss it. She sank back into the pillows and opened one of her grandmother’s journals for a little bedtime reading.

  Thanks to her Gram’s written directions, she’d found fifteen diaries hidden inside the cairn next to the fountain. But in the last leather-bound book, Gram had divulged another hiding place, one where she’d put the others, the ones written after Jean-Luc’s death, the ones that had come after Gram had sealed up the cairn. That surprise hidey hole had been a sealed-off panel in the back of the kitchen pantry. It was like Marissa had fashioned her own treasure hunt many years before her death.

  Gemma was happy to play Gram’s game. Maybe because each journal provided her with an insight into a woman she’d thought she’d known. The joke was on her. Marissa had held back secrets, little gems that gave her a glimpse into her grandmother’s everyday life, a family history Gemma had under-appreciated or ignored altogether. Some entries were simple reminders that her grandparents had had an uphill battle from the start.

  Those early years here were a struggle. Fortunately for us Jean-Luc was lucky enough to find work as a carpenter until the chocolate shop took off. In our second summer here, we were able to buy a secondhand vehicle, a fixer-upper as the seller called it. Jean-Luc used it to haul around his tools. It was an old ’57 panel truck, a broken-down mess if you ask me that backfired every time he started out for work in the morning. But ever the optimist, my stubborn husband was not to be taken for a fool. That Frenchman worked night and day on the engine until he got it running like a top. He even painted advertising on the side that read, “The Coyote Chocolate Company.” Everywhere he went people asked him, “What is that?” And he would go on and on about my exotic recipes for making chocolate candies. Eventually the advertising paid off and people all over the county began showing up at the store.

  Maybe that’s how we made so many friends, Jean-Luc and me. It seemed there were always people finding our little hamlet and deciding to stay. The beach was a huge draw for them I’m sure. Like Darren and Paige Bryerson, tourists down from Boise, Idaha, who decided to make this place home after driving through here on their way to San Francisco. They found a friendly place they fell in love with and they decided to pack up and move here
for good.

  People like the Bryersons might’ve moved to be closer to the ocean, but I tended to gravitate to Fire Mountain or Mystic Falls. On the other hand, Jean-Luc had his preferred places, too. Shadow Canyon and Spirit Lake were his favorite spots to getaway. We’d squabble about where to go on the weekends, even sometimes flipping a coin to decide. There was always so much to do and see, so many places we found to picnic or just spend a day hiking. Jean-Luc would always document the out-of-the-way spots with his camera. He took so many pictures he started selling off a few, first at the Farmers’ Market and then later getting a booth at the local swap meet.

  We enjoyed our new home tremendously and enjoyed each other even more. As much as we loved Coyote Wells, the town wasn’t perfect, not by any means. We found that out the hard way when things began to happen that scared us. It all started one summer when Genevieve was little. Terrible things began to happen. People I knew turned up dead.

  Gemma heard a car pull up outside. A peek from behind the drape revealed a tired Lando walking across the courtyard.

  Flipping the dial on the radio to off, she marked her spot in the journal and put it away. “How’d it go?” she asked when Lando tiptoed into the bedroom. “I stayed awake to hear what happened with Dale.”

  Lando plopped down on the bed and toed off his shoes. “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

  “How’d he take getting suspended?”

  “Dale acted totally defeated,” he said while he removed his shirt and jeans. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think Dale was set up.”

  “Really? How so?”

  “Just a gut feeling. Think about it. Dale signed off that Sunday night less than an hour after the argument with Mallory. Anyone could’ve seen him pull into his apartment complex parking lot. That ten-grand showed up while he was there in front of the victim’s house.”