Dead of Autumn

by Sherry Knowlton

  They spent most of the next hour on the dance floor. When the band played its version of a slow dance, the Eagles’ “Desperado,” Caleb swept her into his arms and whispered, “Do you want to leave?”

  Caleb held Alexa close as they walked to the car. She leaned into his embrace, and he drew her into a long kiss. When they reached her house, Alexa and Caleb rushed in the door as Scout passed them in a hurry to go outside.

  Shedding their coats, they hastened into the living room. Before she could sit down, Caleb slid Alexa’s sweater from her shoulders and cupped her head in a long, slow kiss. She took his hand and led him up the stairs to her bedroom.

  When she reached for the light switch, Caleb caught her hand. “It’s more mysterious in the dark.” Then, he stripped away her clothes, tossing them on the floor in haste. Alexa started to unbutton his shirt, but Caleb clasped his hand over hers. “Let me do it. It’s faster.”

  Alexa ceded to his wish. Her entire body vibrated in anticipation. The sooner she had this man in her bed, the better. Their lovemaking was sweet and sexy at the same time. Caleb took his time, letting his mouth explore Alexa’s body until she was ready to scream.

  Alexa couldn’t stand it any longer. She had to have Caleb inside her, but she had just enough grasp on reality to ask, “Condom?”

  “You do it.”

  Sliding the condom over his erect penis heightened Alexa’s desire. When Caleb entered her, Alexa succumbed to a whirlwind of passion, which ended only after they both reached a frenzied release.

  “Do you have any idea how hot you are?” Caleb asked, head on the pillow.

  “Back at you.”

  Alexa heard Scout woofing at the door. The mastiff could have been barking for the past half hour, but she hadn’t heard a sound. “Luckily, I have no neighbors nearby to complain about the noise. Wouldn’t that be some explanation? I have to go let him in,” she said, letting her eyes linger on the curve of Caleb’s waist where it joined his hip. In the dim light filtering from the hallway, the smooth sweep of tan flesh melted into shade and beckoned Alexa to stay. She wanted to spend more time exploring that tantalizing shadow but forced herself leave the bed.

  “That’s OK. I’ve got to go anyway. I need to get to bed at a decent hour. I’m meeting some friends to go grouse hunting tomorrow.”

  “My God. You will hunt anything, won’t you? I didn’t know you were allowed to hunt our state bird. That seems almost sacrilegious.”

  “But, just think of the skill involved in stalking such a wily creature.”

  Caleb’s departure didn’t surprise Alexa. Since the first time, their routine had never varied. They always did the deed at Alexa’s place. Caleb left soon after. He never spent the night.

  Since they’d met through Graham, Alexa knew for a fact that Caleb wasn’t married. Otherwise, his behavior might have given her pause. In truth, Alexa liked the routine just fine because she wanted to keep things simple with Caleb. She liked Caleb. She liked sex with Caleb. But, she didn’t want anything more from the relationship. Sometimes, Alexa wondered if she was dating Caleb to hide from a real romance. But, she always managed to shrug that thought away. Right now, Caleb was just what she needed.

  Alexa pulled on a pair of sweats and a well-worn sweater before she went downstairs to check on her dog. “I’m so sorry, baby,” she consoled Scout. “At least it’s not cold out tonight.”

  Caleb shook his head as he bounced downstairs from the bedroom, fully dressed. “You treat that dog like a person.”

  Scout lifted his head and eyed Caleb but didn’t approach. There was no love lost between her beloved dog and her casual boyfriend. She chalked Scout’s disdain for Caleb up to a little bit of doggie jealousy. She wasn’t sure why Caleb didn’t warm to Scout. Perhaps he didn’t like dogs. Maybe he just wasn’t a fan of giant dogs that were treated like people. At least the two tolerated each other politely on these occasions when they met in passing.

  As he opened the door, Caleb asked, “Are you free next Saturday? My lodge is having their annual fall picnic and get together. Hopefully, the leaves will still be good. Would you like to spend the day out there with me?”

  “Next Saturday? I think that would work. What kind of lodge? The Elks or the Eagles? I don’t remember you ever mentioning a lodge before.”

  “No. This is a private lodge that my family and a number of others bought in the early 1900s over in Perry County. Membership is passed down from generation to generation. I guess you’d call it a social club/hunting camp hybrid.”

  “Sounds like fun. Call me sometime this week and let me know the details.”

  “OK. I’ll be out of town, but I’ll give you a call.”

  Alexa closed the door behind Caleb and sat down on the couch, running her fingers through Scout’s smooth fur. The invite to this picnic puzzled Alexa. She had never met Caleb’s family. They had bumped into a few of Caleb’s friends over the months when they were out to dinner. But, Caleb rarely talked about anyone in his personal life. A few of his hunting buddies. His sister, Rebecca.

  Alexa admitted that she played her cards pretty close to the vest as well. She talked to Caleb about her parents and their travels. Of course, Caleb knew Graham, who had introduced the two at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

  When she thought about it, she and Caleb always stuck to the surface stuff.

  Case in point: I spent an entire evening with Caleb and never mentioned finding the dead girl.

  Perhaps this invitation to visit the family lodge just meant that he needed a date for the party. Still, Alexa was wary. Could this be a signal that Caleb wanted things to move beyond casual?

  Caleb is gorgeous and oh so hot, but I could never get serious about him, she realized.

  Even when it came to the surface stuff, they were much too different.

  Chapter Eight

  At nine o’clock on Saturday morning, Alexa was still burrowed under the covers. Scout snuggled beside her. Awake for more than a half hour, she had been watching the golden leaves outside the window waft back and forth in the breeze.

  “I love my little tree house,” she exclaimed in delight. Built in the old style with real logs and chinking, the cabin had stood for more than a century. The bedrooms, built as an addition to the original structure, stood at a higher level. In her front-facing bedroom, Alexa’s windows looked right out into the treetops.

  Alexa finally tore herself away from the view and her meditation on the fall leaves. “Scout, time to get up. It looks like a beautiful day and we need to spend some of it outdoors. In a month or so it will be cold and gray. Let’s enjoy it while we can.”

  As Alexa’s feet hit the floor, the bedside phone rang. She was surprised to hear Reese Michaels on the line.

  “It’s a great day, and I remembered that you’re an expert on the local hiking trails. If you don’t have any plans, would you and Scout like to go on a hike?”

  Alexa didn’t hesitate, “Sure. Sounds great. Can you give me an hour?”

  Hanging up the phone, Alexa let Scout out the door for a quick run and then jumped into the shower. She needed to hurry so that she would have time for breakfast.

  Alexa took Reese across the valley to a trail on North Mountain. She and Reese fell into a companionable pace, chatting as they hiked. Excited at the new smells, Scout trotted a few yards ahead.

  “Scout doesn’t have the stamina for a full-day hike. But he can do these five miles with no problem,” Alexa said.

  “He’s certainly full of energy today,” Reese agreed. “But, I’m not going to carry him back to the car if he gets tired. How much does this dog weigh?”

  “Last time the vet put him on the scale, he weighed just shy of 200 pounds. She says that he’ll probably bulk up a few pounds as he matures. He’s a giant, isn’t he?”

  Alexa and Reese continued to joke and chat as they walked upward. Before the final segment of the trail, Alexa suggested, “How about we stop for a while?”

  “Fine with
me.”

  They stopped and drank from their water bottles. Alexa gave Scout a drink from his doggie canteen before he settled down at their feet.

  From his seat on a fallen log, Reese scratched the dog’s ears. He told Alexa, “This is great. I can’t believe I haven’t been over here before now. But, I haven’t had much time to explore the area. The summer season keeps us pretty busy.”

  After a short, steep incline, they reached the summit of the mountain. Alexa led Reese out onto an expanse of huge granite—“Flat Rock”—for which the trail was named. Scout flopped down under the trees to watch.

  “This view is amazing,” said Reese. “You can see the whole valley from here.”

  “It’s clear today. On humid days visibility can be limited.”

  Alexa pointed out some local landmarks and then sat on a rock. “I’m glad you suggested a hike. What a wonderful day. Sunny, a slight breeze, but cool enough for a jacket; a perfect day for a hike. Fall has always been my favorite season.”

  “I wish I had remembered my camera so I could take a picture of the valley. A friend and I exchange pictures of new places.”

  Alexa reached into her jacket pocket and took out her cell phone. “Stand up there on the rocks and pose. I’ll take a picture to send your friend or post on your Facebook page. You can get a picture of the valley the next time.”

  Reese grinned, “I don’t really do Facebook, but a camera phone photo is great.” He called to the dog. “Come on, Scout. I want you in the picture, too.”

  Alexa was surprised to see the mastiff rise and lumber over to Reese. The dog really seemed to like this guy.

  Reese stood in front of the boulders with Scout sitting at his feet. “Smile,” she chirped and snapped a series of pictures.

  Reese peered over Alexa’s shoulder as they reviewed the photos. “Pretty good, actually. Thanks. I’ll give you my email address so you can send them to me. Do you want one of you and Scout?”

  “No, thanks. I’ve been here a zillion times.”

  On the way back, Alexa and Reese slowed their pace. Scout ambled along beside them on the descent. After twenty minutes or so, they passed the first hikers trekking upward.

  “I’m glad we beat the crowd,” Reese said. “It was great to have the trail to ourselves. One of the things I like best about my job is the peace and the quiet of the forest. A lot of my job involves working with people, and that’s fine. It goes with the territory. But I really like to be out in the park on my own. When it’s really quiet, the birds and the animals come out in full force. I saw a bear last week. It was just off Ridge Road in an open patch of scrub pines and grass.”

  “I’ve seen lots of deer at my cabin but never a bear. Every once in a while I hear a bobcat late at night. Scout goes nuts when he hears one of them scream.”

  Soon, the trio reached the parking area. After a drink for all, they loaded the mastiff into the back of Reese’s Jeep and headed back across the valley.

  “It’s long past lunchtime,” Reese said with a look at his watch. “Do you want to stop to get something to eat?”

  “Do you like hamburgers?”

  “Of course I like hamburgers.”

  “Then let’s go back to my cabin and cook some burgers on the grill. I’ve got some in the fridge. That way we can sit out on the deck and enjoy some more of this great day.”

  During their belated lunch, Alexa and Reese got to know each other a little better. She told him about her years in the Big Apple and her decision to return home. “So, what’s your story?” she inquired.

  “I am a man of many facets, so it could take literally weeks to tell you my story.”

  Alexa laughed. She liked Reese’s sense of humor.

  “But, here’s the short version. I went to college at Middlebury in Vermont. I majored in environmental studies. After graduation, I wanted to see some of the world. I got a job with a wildlife conservation organization in Africa. It was one of those jobs that paid next to nothing but gives you a great experience.”

  “I’m so envious. I’ve always wanted to go on safari in Africa. Where were you located?”

  “I was lucky to be assigned to two separate projects. One tracked elephant populations in Kenya. The other involved big cats in Tanzania.”

  “That sounds amazing. How long were you there?”

  “Two years. I loved it. Someday, I’ll go back. I still have friends there. That picture that you took for me today. The guy I exchange photos with is John Lucas, who works with the Kenya project. We email back and forth all the time.”

  “Why did you leave Africa?”

  “It was time. When I returned to the States, I went to Princeton for my master’s. I used my field experience from the big cat study as the jumping off point for my thesis. After Princeton, I decided to move closer to home. My family lives in Western Pennsylvania, and I had been away long enough to miss them.”

  “And your chocolate lab named Hershey?”

  Reese whooped. “So, you were listening that day. Actually, Hershey had gone to Labrador heaven by the time I came home from Africa. My parents downsized to a Jack Russell terrier. His name is Stover. My mom really likes Russell Stover candy, so it seemed appropriate.”

  “Is that when you started with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources?”

  “Yeah. I applied for a position as a park ranger at Roaring Falls State Park. I transferred here to Pine Grove in the spring.”

  “Middlebury, Africa, and Princeton? It sounds to me like you’re a bit overqualified for Pine Grove Furnace State Park,” Alexa commented.

  “Says the Columbia Law School grad who is practicing at a small family firm in Carlisle, PA,” Reese replied.

  “Point taken,” Alexa acknowledged. “I’m sure you get this question all the time, but your name is pretty unusual. I almost hesitate to ask after all the dog name stories—but where did your parents get the name Reese?”

  He laughed. “I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked about my name. Most of the time I get jokes about Reese’s Pieces. But, I’m not really that sweet. The explanation is much more mundane. It’s a family name; the last name of my mother’s favorite grandfather.”

  “I like it. It’s nice to have a name that doesn’t belong to six other people you know.”

  As they finished the burgers and a salad that Alexa had thrown together, Alexa looked at Reese and broached the topic they had avoided all day. “Anything new on the investigation that you can tell me about?”

  “From what I understand, they’ve made very little progress in the case. The state police received a lot of calls about the drawing in the newspapers. But, none of the tips checked out.

  “Apparently, this often happens when the police ask for help. They get calls from mothers whose daughters are missing, hoping desperately that this girl is not their child. They get calls from crackpots who are just into the excitement of calling the cops. And, they get some legitimate leads. But, from what I’ve heard, none of those leads have panned out. They still don’t know who this girl is.”

  “Why haven’t family or friends reported her missing? I guess the police have looked at missing persons reports?”

  Reese’s reply was thoughtful. “I only know a little about this, but we’ve dealt with a few runaways. We had a kid up at Camp Thompson last summer run away on his second day at Wilderness Camp. From that experience I learned that there are a lot of runaway kids in this country. Some are reported as missing. Some are running away from bad situations at home and maybe the parent never even tells the police that the kid is gone.

  “With this girl, it’s even more complicated because of her age. The coroner says she was in her late teens, at most twenty, legally an adult. Maybe Carlisle is not her hometown; maybe she wasn’t in regular contact with her parents; maybe she was a drifter … there are lots of reasons that she might not be missed.”

  “But they have to find out who she is. If the police don’t identify her, the
y’ll never figure out who killed her. She needs to have justice. It’s just not right that someone killed her and then just dumped her under a bush.”

  “She was strangled,” Reese revealed. “The state police aren’t releasing that information, so don’t tell anyone.”

  “I did notice that her neck was a little bruised when I felt for a pulse. But, otherwise, she looked unblemished. Wouldn’t her face have been purple or something if she was strangled?” Alexa frowned at the memory.

  Reese replied, “Apparently, it varies. I don’t really know much about this. But the police told me that strangulation can be determined from these burst blood vessels called petechiae. If you watch any of the cop shows, you’ve probably heard them cite petechial hemorrhaging as cause of death. You can look it up online, too.

  “Anyway, sometimes these damaged blood vessels are quite evident. Other times, like this, they are so small that they can only be detected in an autopsy. The autopsy also revealed a broken hyoid bone in her throat, which is an even more definitive indicator of strangulation.

  “The police think that she was killed somewhere else and probably wasn’t moved to that spot in Michaux until a few hours later.”

  Alexa had a fleeting vision of that jagged scrap of the girl’s fuchsia blouse rippling in the wind. She shuddered to think of the fatal injury that the blouse covered. Perhaps the killer tore the blouse when he choked the life out of the girl’s fragile body.

  The sun had started to dip below the trees when Reese finally got up from his deck chair. “If I don’t get out of here, you’re going to have to feed me dinner, too.”

  “Thanks for a nice day,” Alexa said as she jumped to her feet. “I’m not sure if your plan was to distract me from obsessing about the murder or if you really wanted to go hiking. Either way, I’m glad you called. It was a great day for Flat Rock.”