by C. C. Wall
“Could you please give me call if you hear anything or remember anything that you think may be useful?” Dyer asked.
“Of course,” she said. “You know, I hear everything around here.”
“I sure do,” Dyer said. He smiled at her. “I’m sorry. We will find her.”
“I’m sure you will,” she said. “Sooner rather than later though.”
“We will,” he said. He patted Reed on the back. “Let’s go.”
“No,” Reed said. “Not yet.”
“What are you talking about?” Dyer said.
“I have some questions about something else,” Reed said.
“Okay,” Zoe said. “Whatcha got?”
“What time was it when you last saw Black Star Bear?” Reed asked.
“Jesus,” Dyer couldn’t believe it. “I’ll go wait in the car.”
“Thank you for asking me about that,” she said. “I was afraid no one would bother.”
“Black Star Bear is a staple to our community Ms. Wood,” Reed said. “I would be an awful public servant if I didn’t investigate it.”
She smiled. “You are one of the good ones.”
“Thank you,” he said. “But, do you recall the time around the last time you saw it?”
She thought about it. “It had to have been around six o’clock. Last night. Yes.” She nodded her head.
“And what time was it when you realized it was gone?” he asked.
“It was six twenty-eight on the dot,” she said. “I remember because I thought to myself as I was opening the door that I was leaving two minutes earlier than usual. Then I turned and it was gone.”
“Have you been having trouble with anyone lately?” he asked. “Or has there been any vandalism of any kind to the store or the bear?”
“Nope,” she said. “Everyone loves Black Star Bear. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to do anything bad to it.”
“Me neither,” Reed said. “How much do you think it weighed?”
“Oh, a lot,” she said. “It would take two or three people to move it at least. I would think anyway.”
“That’s what I figured,” he said. “Thank you for your time. I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Zoe smiled and waved as they drove off.
Dyer and Reed didn’t speak for the first few minutes in the car. Dyer couldn’t hold it in.
“What the hell was that?” Dyer asked.
“What?” Reed said.
“Black Star Bear?” Dyer said. “We are investigating a missing person, probably a murder.”
“Black Star Bear is important,” Reed said. “Reagan agrees with me. It was his order that I question Zoe about it.”
Dyer rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I just think that there are more important things to be doing. We need to get our priorities straight.”
“It’s not about priorities,” Reed said. “It’s about civic pride. It’s about community. Just because we have some murders and some missing persons doesn’t mean we have to turn a blind eye to vandalism. We don’t need this town to turn into anarchy.”
“I see your point,” Dyer said. He said it through a tight jaw. He knew Reed was right, but still felt it was out of place. “Let’s just focus on catching the bad guys quick, then so we can get back to missing bears.”
36 - The Gang’s Back Together
Soon after Dyer and Reed returned to the station, the doors opened up and three people entered as if in slow-motion. Reed’s eyeballs nearly popped out of his head. Dyer spilled his coffee. Reagan smiled under his mustache. Sue, Lukas and Chaney were back at the Sheriff’s Station.
“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” Reagan said. “Glad to see you on your feet Lukas.”
“Glad to be on them,” Lukas said.
Reagan put his hand on Chaney’s shoulder. “And what about you? You ready to be back?”
Chaney nodded with pursed lips. “I’m ready.”
“I missed the crap out of ya,” Reagan said, “but if you need more time I understand.”
“No,” Chaney said. “It’s been far too long.”
“Good. Lose the robe though. There’s a separation of church and state in this country. Grab some doughnuts and coffee while you still can and let’s all meet in the conference room in five,” Reagan said. “I need a new drink.”
“I am so glad to see you both!” Reed said. “It has been really hard trying to fill both of your shoes the last few days.”
“Come on, Reed,” Dyer said. “You just slip them on one at a time. Just like everyone else.” Dyer didn’t smile at Lukas or at Chaney. He kept his face solid like a stone.
“I don’t know about you,” Chaney said, “But I cannot remember the last time I had a doughnut.” Chaney walked quickly to the kitchen.
“Last week. I’m pretty sure it was last week,” Lukas said. “Save me a fritter.”
Chaney popped his head out from around the corner, “Sue, there is a Chuck here and he’s eating all the doughnuts.”
Everyone was in the conference room. Reagan, Sue, Lukas, Chaney, Reed and Dyer.
“All right everybody,” Reagan said. “Have a seat.”
The door opened and Chuck ran in with a doughnut hanging out of his mouth. “Oooh! Did I miss anything? Sorry, I’m late. I know. Late to my own funeral probably.”
Lukas looked around waiting for anyone to say something. No one did and he felt compelled. “Who is this guy?”
“Chuck, Chuck Grover” Chuck said. “Doughnut enthusiast and your new coroner.”
Lukas scanned the room to see if anyone was laughing. No. This wasn’t a joke. This was real. “Our own coroner?”
“He’s weird as shit Lukas,” Reagan said. “But he’s worth his weight. He’s been very helpful.”
Lukas nodded.
“All right,” Reagan started, “Since some of us haven’t been here the last few days and some of us weren’t here when all this malarkey started, I’m going to run down the list of cases and their status. I’m also going to be assigning some of you to cases and taking some of you off others. Now that the gang is back together, we are not going to be spread out so damn thin.”
Reagan went to the white, dry-erase board, and pulled out a marker. “Jane Doheny. The feds are dealing with this one. This is not ours anymore. Case closed.”
“I would still like to look into it,” Lukas said.
“Feds got her. Case closed,” Reagan repeated.
“What about what Jack Hart reported? Is it possible that Jonathan had something to do with her?” Reed asked.
“What Jack reported?” Sue asked “What are you talking about?”
Reagan rolled his eyes. “That little prick linked Jonathan to Michael, Henry, Elizabeth and Jane. He thinks that’s why he was arrested.”
“I talked to Elizabeth,” Lukas said. “Her father had nothing to do with her disappearance or Henry’s death. The man she saw kill Henry, and attack her, was the same man that I chased into Cook’s.”
“Henry’s death was a heart attack,” Reagan said.
“Oooh! Can I double check Dr. Clive’s report?” Chuck squealed.
Reagan sighed. “Yeah, whatever.”
“I also think there is something that might include Jonathan,” Lukas said. “Elizabeth said Henry died in the motel room. If that is the case, why did we find his body in front of Jonathan’s, in the same place we found Jane?”
Reagan turned red. His nostrils flared. “Okay!” he said loudly, “Listen up. Chuck, look at the body. Lukas you can look into the connections. But, no one looks into Doheny. The Feds have her now. Case closed.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Should I bring Jack in for questioning to see where he got his information?” Reed asked.
“Yes,” Reagan said. “Get on that.”
“I bet it was from Eugene Wellington,” Dyer said. “That guy was much too happy about Jonathan getting picked up.”
“Good,” Reagan said. “Foll
ow that lead.” He turned to the board and wrote, “Michael Goodman. We have Jonathan dead to rights on this one. His lawyer, Donald Roth, will be here later to do an interview. Sue, I need you in on that.”
“You bet,” Sue said.
“Next,” Reagan cleared his throat and glanced at Chaney. “Next is Sara…” He looked to see what Chaney’s reaction was. Chaney was stoic. “You don’t have to be I here for this.”
“No,” Chaney said. “It’s fine. I’m curious to see what leads you all have for me.”
“For you?” Reagan asked.
“Yes,” Chaney said. “This is my case.”
“Lawernce,” Reagan said. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you on this case. It’s too close to home.”
Rage appeared in Chaney’s eyes. He locked his rage from leaving his eyes. “How could you do this? You know if this was any of your…” he stopped.
Sue grabbed Chaney’s hand. “It’s okay.”
“Gus is still our prime suspect,” Reagan said. “Dyer and Reed, I want you two looking for Gus. No stone unturned.”
Dyer and Reed nodded.
“That brings us to Michelle Roth,” Reagan said.
Lukas looked down at his feet, “You all have no idea, what I…”
“Shut up, Lukas,” Reagan said. “I just need you to hand me your badge.”
The room was in shock. Everyone knew that this should happen, but no one thought Reagan would actually do it.
“Reagan,” Lukas said.
“No lip!” Reagan shouted. “I need your badge.”
Lukas clinched his jaw. He took out his badge and his gun. He walked over to Reagan, handing him each.
“Keep your gun,” Reagan said. “There is too much weird shit going on around here. I need ya.”
“I don’t understand.” Lukas said.
“Roth is going for our throats. He wants results. So, I am going to tell him I took your detective badge,” Reagan said. “He doesn’t need to know that I deputized you after I took it though, does he?” Reagan had a twinkle in his eye.
Lukas smiled.
Reagan handed a nice, new, shiny star to Lukas. “I here by deputize you to serve and protect the people of Black Star Canyon.” Reagan patted him on the back. “Lay low, no, guns blazing in the street shit, but I need you to find that Hoodie character. Can you do it?”
“Hell yeah I can,” Lukas said.
“The judge will be in this week for Jonathan’s arraignment, but he is also going to look at the shooting and decide what we do from there. Sound good?” Reagan said.
“It sure does,” Lukas responded.
“Good,” Reagan walked back over to the board. “So, Dyer, there was no body of Colt where Dakota took you?”
“What?” Lukas said.
“Oh,” Reed said. “Dakota killed Colt.”
“So he says,” Dyer said. “He confessed but there was no body.”
“He must have found out that Colt was sleeping with Bekka,” Lukas said.
“What?” Sue shouted.
“Bekka is probably in danger,” Chaney said. “And if Dakota didn’t kill Colt, Colt will be looking for him.”
“If there is no body,” Reagan said, “there is no crime. We have to let him go.”
“Chaney is right,” Lukas said. “Colt is nuts. If you turn Dakota loose, he’s a goner.”
Chuck was licking his fingers. “You know, what you could do, is have Dr. Clive come see him. If she thinks that Dakota is bonkers, she will take him into the psych ward. No offense, but that is way safer than your jail here.” Chuck took a swig of his coffee.
“Can you put that together for us, Chuck?” Reagan asked.
“Sure as sunshine!” Chuck said.
“That brings us to the most awful thing going on,” Reagan said. “It seems that we have a serial killer in town. I know that for some of you, hearing this will be hard, but this is what’s new. Two days ago, Kara Church was abducted and her right hand was hacked off. She is still missing. We were sent that hand in the mail yesterday and the hand had the letter E carved into the palm.”
“Jesus,” Lukas said.
Reagan continued. “This morning, another package containing a severed hand was delivered to the Black Star Cafe. This hand had the letter S carved into it. Both hands were right hands. This means, there have been two victims. Chuck, do you have any information on the hand?”
Chuck stood up and went to the board. “Yes, the report on the hand just came back and it seems that this hand belonged to… Ashley Swain.”
“Holy shit!” Dyer said. “She works at the cafe!”
“We have to find her,” Reed said.
Chuck cleared his throat. “I’m not trying to sound insensitive,” He looked at Reagan and nodded. “But, the fact of the matter is, these two girls are most likely dead. Unless they received medical attention after these wounds, they would have bled out rapidly. It’s the same concept as slitting your wrists but much, much faster.”
“What do we know about the killer?” Sue asked.
“Dick squat,” Reagan said.
“I’ll take lead on this one,” Sue said.
“You got it,” Reagan said. “Listen, mums the word on this to anyone. It hasn’t got out yet.”
“There is another case that you didn’t mention,” Dyer said.
“If you are talking about Jason Harker,” Reagan said. “I’ll take that one personally.”
“What the hell happened to Jason Harker?” Lukas asked.
“Fill him in later Sue, would ya?” Reagan asked.
“Yes,” she answered.
“We have a a lot of work to do, come on,” Reagan said. “Lukas, lay low when Roth gets here.”
“What about me?” Chaney said. “What am I on?”
“You are with your partner,” Reagan said. “You still have a partner.”
“Right,” Chaney said.
Reagan cleared his throat, “Sue, hang back a second.”
“Sure thing,” she said.
They waited until they were the last people in the room. Reagan sat down. Sue grabbed a chair.
“No,” Reagan said. “Closer.” He pointed to a chair right next to him.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I lied about something in here today,” he said. “Gus isn’t our only suspect in Sara’s murder.”
“Who else?” she asked.
“Unless I find out where the hell Chaney has been this week, he is still on my radar,” he said. “I never would’ve believed he could do something like that, but after the disappearance, then him showing up here looking like shit, dressed as a priest, I came to the conclusion, that I really don’t know Chaney like I thought I did. Between you and me, he’s our number one suspect until he can prove to me otherwise.”
Sue was speechless. She knew that Chaney could never have hurt Sara, at least she thought she knew it. Every second that went by, Reagan’s reasons seemed to make more sense. “Okay.” She nodded and took a deep breath.
“Not a word of this to anyone,” Reagan said. “Especially Lukas.”
37 - Remains
Chaney was confused as to how someone so big, loud and boisterous could be so elusive. He then thought maybe he’s just been out of the game for too long. They all stepped out of the conference room less than five minutes prior and he could not find Chuck Grover anywhere. Then it dawned on him.
Chaney walked backed into the kitchen and there scrapping the frosting off of the bottom of the doughnut box, was Chuck.
“Hey there,” Chaney said. “I don’t think we were properly introduced.”
“No,” Chuck said. “I don’t believe so.” He wiped the frosting off his hand onto his lab coat. He reached out his hand. “Chuck Grover, coroner.”
“Detective Lawrence Chaney.” He shook his hand. “I’ve been out on… sabbatical. But, I’m back now.”
“I see that.” Chuck smiled. “I think there was another doughnut in one of these boxes. I can fi
nd it for you if you…”
“No, no,” he said, “it’s fine. I actually had some questions for you.”
“Shoot!” Chuck said.
“So, Sara,” he said.
“That was your wife?” Chuck asked. “Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Chaney answered. “That was actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“I’m all ears.” Chuck smiled.
“So my wife was…” Chaney hesitated.
“Murdered,” Chuck said. “Your wife was murdered.” He smiled and nodded.
Chaney bit the inside of his cheek as hard as he could. He hoped Chuck hadn’t noticed. “Yes.” Behind his back, he clinched his fists into tight balls. “That happened last week? Am I correct in that?”
Chuck tilted his head thinking there was a joke coming. When Chaney didn’t say anything else he answered. “Yes, you silly! You almost had me there! Forgetting something like your wife’s murder.” He chuckled.
“Do you know where she… where her… I’m having a really hard time with this. If you can help me out and stop me from rambling at anytime, it would be appreciated.” Chaney smiled. Any one else that knew him would have known the smile was a fake immediately, but Chuck was too new.
“Are you wondering where the body is?” Chuck asked.
“Yes,” Chaney responded.
“I believe it is in the morgue at the hospital. They were waiting for you to make arrangements last I heard,” Chuck said.
“Do you know if they are finished with it,” Chaney said. “Meaning, the investigation.”
“I can certainly check,” Chuck said. “Do you know what you want to do with the remains?”
“Yes,” Chaney said. “I do believe I do.”
“Well, if you want, I can just put in the request to have Mort pick the body up and then you make whatever arrangements you want with him,” Chuck said.
Chaney nodded. “That would be fantastic.” He patted Chuck on the arm. “Make it a priority, okay?”
38 - Like a Shark
Bekka felt like she was completely losing her mind. Her sister has run off and her parents have vanished. She couldn’t get ahold of either of her lovers. Things were falling a part.