Dead of Autumn

by Sherry Knowlton

  DEAD of AUTUMN

  Sherry Knowlton

  Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania USA

  Published by Sunbury Press, Inc.

  50 West Main Street, Suite A

  Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055

  www.sunburypress.com

  NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright (c) 2014 by Sherry Knowlton.

  Cover copyright (c) 2014 by Sunbury Press.

  Sunbury Press supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Sunbury Press to continue to publish books for every reader. For information contact Sunbury Press, Inc., Subsidiary Rights Dept., 50-A W. Main St., Mechanicsburg, PA 17011 USA or legal@sunburypress.com.

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  ISBN: 978-1-62006-476-4 (Trade Paperback)

  ISBN: 978-1-62006-477-1 (Mobipocket)

  ISBN: 978-1-62006-478-8 (ePub)

  FIRST SUNBURY PRESS EDITION: September 2014

  Product of the United States of America

  0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55

  Set in Bookman Old Style

  Designed by Lawrence Knorr

  Cover by Tammi Knorr

  Edited by Jennifer Melendrez

  Continue the Enlightenment!

  For Mike and Josh with love.

  Evil is unspectacular and always human,

  and shares our bed and eats at our own table …

  — W.H. Auden, Herman Melville

  Do not think lightly of evil that not the least consequence will come of it. A whole waterpot will fill up from dripping drops of water. A fool fills himself with evil, just a little at a time.

  — The Buddha

  Chapter One

  Russet leaves spiraled like crimson dervishes and soared past the battered Land Rover as Alexa traveled the winding forest road. She luxuriated in the solitude of this early morning drive. At this time on Sunday, most people were either in bed or at church. Later in the day, this mountain road would be overrun with leaf peepers trying to catch the autumn foliage at its peak.

  Alexa thought of this forty-minute drive to the nursing home as a trade off. She loved the journey more than the destination. Ever since the stroke, these visits with Grandma Williams could be heartbreaking. One of the advantages of moving home to South Central Pennsylvania was seeing her failing grandmother.

  As the Land Rover sliced through bars of sunlight angling through the trees, Alexa mused.

  This is so much better than sitting in some church. It’s like meditation on wheels.

  Alexa glanced in the rearview mirror, her thoughts interrupted by the whining English mastiff behind her seat. “Scout. What’s the problem, buddy?”

  Hearing her voice, Scout whined louder and draped his huge head over Alexa’s shoulder.

  “OK, OK. Do you have to make a pit stop, little guy? There’s a place we can pull over soon. You’ll just have to wait a few minutes.”

  Nothing but uninhabited state forest land stretched for miles around them. Alexa planned to stop at a parking area ahead. The trailhead parking lot was filled with cars most days; hikers in the summer and snowmobilers in the winter. This morning, Alexa expected that she and Scout would have the place to themselves.

  A shaft of sunlight tinted a maple blood red. “Check out that tree, Scout. The color is unreal.”

  Screeeech. Alexa jumped and jerked her eyes back to the road. A white van barreled around the curve ahead. The van’s left wheel careened across the solid yellow line. Startled, Alexa gripped the wheel hard and edged the Land Rover toward the berm to avoid a collision. Scout scrambled to keep his balance when the Land Rover’s big tire hit a pothole on the asphalt lining the edge of the road.

  Finally, the oncoming driver took control and guided the van back into his own lane. Alexa glimpsed two men wearing camouflage in the front seat as the van blew by her, still speeding much too fast for the twisting mountain road.

  “Assholes,” Alexa yelled. “Scout, the morning has totally lost its Zen.” She managed a shaky laugh. “That guy might drive like a bat out of hell, but he’s never going to win the Indy 500 with a beat up old van like that. No. With that camo look, they probably have their sights on NASCAR, not the Indy.”

  Still shaking slightly, Alexa pulled into her favorite spot, grabbed a leash and a big red ball from the passenger seat, and let Scout out of the car. The dog bounded out looking for the nearest suitable tree.

  Zipping her light fleece jacket, Alexa drank in the velvety scent of the autumn woods, rich with the powdery spice of dry leaves and the darker tannins of forest decay. She ambled into the trees with Scout close behind, wanting to put some distance between the dog and the road.

  “OK, Scout. We can take a few minutes for fetch before we go see Grandma. Come here.”

  Scout levitated off the ground spinning circles in the air, excited to chase the ball, one of his favorite games. The fawn-colored dog dashed back and forth after the ball, crunching the fallen leaves. On the fifth throw, Alexa recognized the signs. Scout was tiring.

  “Last one, Scout,” Alexa warned as she arced the ball high into the air, but her throw went astray. The ball clipped a low-hanging branch, plummeted to the ground, and disappeared over a small hill. The mastiff chased after the ball as it hit the dirt and rolled down the far slope.

  For a few seconds, Alexa lost sight of both Scout and the ball. She rushed in their direction, calling out to the dog. She stopped dead in her tracks then sprinted when she heard Scout barking furiously. When the pitch of his bark rose to a high keen, an icy tremor fluttered down Alexa’s spine.

  Frantic thoughts of bears, porcupines, and animal traps flew through Alexa’s mind as she reached the top of the rise. She slowed as she caught sight of Scout about twenty yards away. Still yelping, the red ball forgotten at his feet, the mastiff seemed riveted by a bushy area near the small stream.

  The dog didn’t appear to be hurt, but she still worried that some wild animal was involved. This state forest saw several cases of rabies every year, and she didn’t want to confront a rabid fox or other animal. She picked up a fallen branch.

  Despite repeated calls, Scout would not come to her. Alexa continued to edge nearer, her heart thumping. She glimpsed a bright flash of pink at the far base of the mountain laurel and wondered why Scout would flip out over a pile of trash. Tensed to flee, Alexa tiptoed still closer to Scout and whatever had him behaving so strangely.

  A slight, blonde girl lay completely still beneath the mountain laurel, a patch of her torn fuchsia blouse lifting on the breeze. Her legs, clad in trendy blue jeans, skewed at an impossible angle to her waist. Her back rested on a pile of scarlet leaves, right arm flung above her head; blue eyes staring sightless at the sky.

  Alexa gasped and let the branch slip from her fingers. She reached out to grip Scout’s collar, and the dog immediately stopped his keening. An abrupt silence fell over the forest. The sudden quiet unnerved Alexa. The small slope blocked any sounds of traffic from the road. She could hear nothing except the muted burble of the c
reek and the dry rustle of autumn leaves.

  The murmur of the dying leaves seemed to whisper a warning. Alexa scanned the surrounding area, but she and Scout were alone.

  Alone with a dead body.

  “Don’t lose it here, Alexa,” she muttered and reluctantly forced her gaze back to the young woman. Struggling to maintain control, Alexa let out a shriek when a gust of wind tore through the forest, tangling a shriveled brown leaf in the girl’s silky, white-blonde hair.

  Alexa finally regained her composure and began to deal with the situation. “Sit,” she commanded Scout and broke her desperate grasp on the dog’s collar. She snapped on his leash and slipped the looped handle over her left wrist. Steeling herself, Alexa knelt and touched the girl’s neck, searching for a pulse. From the utter stillness of the body and the sightless eyes, Alexa knew instinctively that the girl was dead. But, she had to check.

  When she found no heartbeat, Alexa jerked her hand back in horror. The girl’s taut flesh felt cool, as if it had absorbed the chilly morning air. Alexa scrambled to her feet, fingers burning as if they’d rested too long on ice. Then, she fled back to the car for her cell phone, dragging Scout on his leash behind her.

  Chapter Two

  More than an hour later, Alexa perched on the open tailgate of a state park SUV. State police cars and rescue vehicles filled the gravel parking area.

  She watched local volunteer firemen in fluorescent vests stand in the middle of the two-lane road to direct the mounting volume of traffic. The leaf peepers were out in full force. The volunteers, likely farmers from the nearby township, had difficulty concentrating on their traffic duties and gawked at the novelty of this huge police investigation.

  Despite the swirl of noise and activity, Alexa felt numb. Although she had seen a few dead bodies in her twenty-nine years, all of those had been carefully arranged in caskets at a funeral home. Her only experience with violent death had been seeing her old dog hit by a car when she was eight.

  Rocking back and forth on the tailgate, Alexa took deep cleansing breaths. The girl had looked so young and vulnerable, her body just lying out under the bushes, exposed to the elements.

  Alexa had already waited forty-five minutes for the state police to arrive, and she was still waiting for them to interview her. She couldn’t help but feel a nagging sense of guilt for abandoning the girl in the woods.

  Scout slept in the back of her Land Rover, calm in familiar territory and unfazed by the beehive of activity outside the vehicle. Wrapped in a blanket from one of the ambulance drivers, Alexa couldn’t get warm, even with the midday sun shining directly on her upturned face. The family said that Alexa took after Grandma Williams, who had been pretty feisty in her day. Right now, Alexa was having trouble connecting with her feisty gene.

  Alexa studied the two policemen who approached from the tree line, obviously headed in her direction. The men both clocked in at six feet or more. Maybe the state police had a height requirement for the job, Alexa speculated. The younger policeman had kind brown eyes and dishwater-blonde hair. Dressed in a brown corduroy sports coat and tan chinos, he looked like a third-year law student—too young for police work.

  The other cop wore a serious expression on his weathered face. The gray sprinkled through his close-cropped brown hair denoted his seniority. On a Sunday morning in the forest, this one wore a suit and tie. Something about the aggressive way he moved suggested an athlete, maybe a former hockey player with that scar on his temple.

  “Miss?” To Alexa’s surprise, the baby-faced policeman spoke first.

  “Williams. Alexa Williams.” She slipped off the tailgate and stood to face the two cops.

  “Miss Williams. I’m Trooper Taylor and this is Corporal Branche; we’re with the State Police Crimes Investigation Unit. We have some questions for you.”

  “Sure. I’m not sure what I can tell you that will help.” Alexa hesitated and then words tumbled out. “Was she murdered? She was so crumpled. She looked like she had just been thrown there. She can’t be much older than nineteen or twenty. Maybe a college kid. How could this happen here in Michaux?”

  A uniformed park ranger joined the group. The ranger, who towered over the two policemen, introduced himself. “Hello. I’m Reese Michaels from DCNR. I am acting as the liaison for this case from the state park side of things.”

  Taylor turned back to Alexa and said, “We still need to have the coroner rule on cause of death, Miss Williams. But clearly, this death is questionable, and it is possible that she did not die back there in the forest. We hope that we’ll find answers to all of those questions as we investigate this young woman’s death. Right now, we need to know how you came to find the body.”

  Alexa walked the three men through the entire tale of her stop at the parking area and Scout leading her to the girl’s body. She didn’t try to describe the panic that had seized her when Scout started his frenzied barking or the cold, shuddery way she felt even now.

  “Did you see anyone else here when you arrived? Any cars in the parking area?”

  “No. It was deserted … not surprising for the time of day.”

  Ranger Michaels said, “It sounds like you are familiar with this area. You knew about the trail and the stream?”

  “Yes. I’ve spent a lot of time hiking around here. In my high school years, this hike along Tumbling Run was a regular weekend outing.”

  “Tell us a little bit more about yourself, Ms. Williams. You said you were going to visit a nursing home. Is that right? Why did you come on this road? What sort of work do you do?” Trooper Taylor took over the questions again.

  “I was on my way to visit my grandmother at the Three Pines Nursing Home over in Franklin County. This road is the most direct route from my home. I’m an attorney. I work at my family’s firm, Williams, Williams, and O’Donnell in Carlisle.”

  “Your husband didn’t come with you this morning?” the Ranger asked with a quick glance at her left hand.

  “No husband. I live alone.”

  “So, tell us again. Why did you walk down to the stream where you discovered the deceased?” Trooper Taylor questioned.

  “I was chasing after Scout. He’s actually the one who found the body.” Alexa shuddered. “I’ve never heard him howl like that. I thought he was hurt.”

  “Did the dog disturb the body?”

  “I don’t think so. He was alone with her for a few seconds before I got to the top of the hill. But, the whole time I saw him, he stayed a foot or so away from the body.”

  “What about you? Did you touch the body?”

  “I am pretty sure that I told someone this already. Yes. I touched my fingers to her neck. I was trying to find a pulse. But, she felt so cold. On the cop shows, they always say like marble. But that’s not right. Her skin felt cold, but it had texture.” Alexa rubbed her fingers on the leg of her jeans as she rambled on.

  “You said there were no cars in the parking area. Did you see anyone in the woods?”

  “No. I looked around after we found her. But I didn’t see anyone. It was really creepy to be out there alone with a dead body.” Alexa remembered the eerie whispering in the trees and her panic as she stood over the dead girl’s body. Tears started to stream down her cheeks.

  “I’m sorry. This whole experience has been a little overwhelming. I thought I could keep it together, but this has been an awful morning.” She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve.

  “We understand that this must have been a difficult for you, Ms. Williams. As an attorney, you understand how important it is to get all the details in a case like this.”

  “I practice civil law. But, I understand that you need to ask me these questions. The girl looks so young. It seems so wrong that her body would be out here in the woods. How could that happen?”

  “That is what we aim to discover through our investigation.” Trooper Taylor finished by handing her his card. “Thank you, Miss Williams. That will be all for now. We may be contacting you again. L
et us know if you think of anything else.”

  As Alexa turned toward her car, Corporal Branche broke his silence, “Did you know this girl?”

  Alexa pictured the porcelain face framed by white-blonde curls and the wide, vacant blue eyes. “No. I have no idea who she is. I didn’t know her.” Then, almost as if someone else was speaking, Alexa heard herself say, “But something about her seems familiar. It’s hard to tell, seeing her like that. I think I may have run across her somewhere before.”

  The park ranger ended up driving Alexa home in her Land Rover. Alexa insisted that she could drive but didn’t protest too vigorously about the arrangement. In truth, she continued to feel a little shaky. She was embarrassed about crying during police questioning, but every time she thought of the girl under the mountain laurel, tears came to her eyes.

  After assuring Alexa that he could handle a stick shift, the ranger said he’d take her home and then have someone from the park pick him up from Alexa’s house.

  “It’s a fairly short drive,” she told him. “My place sits on the border of the park over near Hunter’s Ridge.”

  Alexa had not fully appreciated the ranger’s size until he folded himself into the Land Rover. His curly brown hair almost brushed the roof of the car. His broad shoulders and lanky body completely filled the narrow seat as his tanned hand reached confidently for the gearshift. Given her morning’s experience, Alexa found his presence surprisingly reassuring.

  Ranger Michaels kept up a constant stream of chatter as he drove. “I’m fairly new to this area, so you’ll have to direct me to your house. I started my assignment at Pine Grove Furnace State Park earlier this year, so I don’t know all these rural roads yet.”