Dead of Autumn

by Sherry Knowlton

  Reese stopped at the threshold and turned toward Alexa. For a brief moment, Alexa thought he might kiss her. Instead, he touched her shoulder lightly, said goodnight, and walked out the door.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Home from their latest vacation, Alexa’s parents invited her to dinner on Tuesday evening. She had missed them and enjoyed hearing about their trip.

  Her mother bubbled over with enthusiasm. “The Amazon was wonderful. Each day the boat traveled upriver we got farther and farther away from civilization. I spent hours just watching the miles drift by on the riverbank. It was mesmerizing.”

  “Susan,” her father interrupted, “don’t exaggerate. We stopped at a lot of villages and markets in the early days of the trip. There are many people, called riberenos, who make their homes near the river. Also, there was a huge amount of traffic on the Amazon itself. The river acts the main route for transportation of goods and people. However, the traffic and the villages thinned out when we traveled into some of the narrower tributaries.”

  “Alexa, the wildlife was outstanding. Birds, blue morpho butterflies, pink river dolphins.”

  “Pink dolphins, Mom? What were you drinking while you lounged in that riverboat? Too many pisco sours, perhaps?”

  “They exist. We even swam with them one day upriver.”

  “And don’t forget those lovely capybaras, dear,” her father jibed. “They look like giant rats.”

  “Like the ROUSes from Princess Bride?”

  “The what?” her mother asked.

  “Rodents of Unusual Size.” Alexa and her father responded in unison, laughing hysterically.

  Alexa’s mother bustled into the kitchen to cut three pieces of homemade pumpkin bread while her dad recounted their climb to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu. As they ate dessert, with Scout closely monitoring, the travel tales finally came to an end.

  “So, Alexa,” asked her mom, “what’s been going on with you while we were away?”

  “Yes, dear,” her dad interjected. “Is everything OK up at the cabin? I need to get out there soon and help you winterize.”

  “Everything has been good.” Alexa mentally crossed her fingers. She would eventually tell them about the crazy things that had been happening, but not on this first night together. In the six weeks that her parents had been gone, she had found a dead body, been questioned by the police about death threats at the clinic, and met Caleb’s really conservative and borderline cult-like parents. Alexa just wasn’t ready to deal with the parental angst that disclosing this would bring.

  “I’ll fill you in later; Scout and I need to get home. I’ve got an early day tomorrow. Great dinner, Mom. I missed you guys, and I’m glad you’re back.” Alexa grabbed her jacket and herded Scout out the door.

  At the clinic the next afternoon, things seemed fairly calm. Back from his Hawaiian vacation, Dr. Crowe was seeing patients. With two doctors, the appointments flowed more smoothly.

  In the late afternoon, Alexa had chance to ask Tanisha and Barb, “Has anything happened with the death threats? Do the police have any leads?”

  Barb replied in disgust, “Nothing. At least we haven’t gotten any new notes. But, the cops don’t have a clue who sent that letter or whether it was directed at Dr. Kearns or Dr. Crowe.”

  Tanisha chimed in, “And, honey, I don’t think they give a rat’s behind about any threats to this place.” She nodded her head toward the group across the street. “The cops are tired of dealing with those people and see this clinic as one giant hassle. I don’t think they’re looking real hard.”

  “I spoke to Elise on the phone late last week,” Alexa replied. “She seems to be dealing with the threat and has put it behind her as much as she can. I think she’s operating on the assumption that the threat could have been against either her or Dr. Frank. I’m hoping that this was just a one-time thing from a pissed off patient or some anti-abortion wacko.”

  “We can only hope,” Barb said as she stood to call the next patient into the examining room.

  Privately, Alexa still worried about Elise, Frank, and the clinic. She studied the small band parading up and down across the street. They didn’t look dangerous in their sober dresses and suits. The same two young men who had looked so out of place last week were there again. Dressed in jeans, they walked with the group but did not carry any signs. “I wonder what their story is …” Alexa murmured.

  Shortly before Alexa left for home, Dr. Crowe sought her out to discuss the threat. “We don’t know how serious this threat really is. But we must be cautious. In a way, we’ve been lucky up to now. Here at Cumberland, we’ve gotten a little complacent. We’ve been focused on all the restrictive new rules coming out of the state capital. Meanwhile, we’ve forgotten about the violence that has plagued other clinics across the country.

  “You know how it is. We spend nearly all of our time here providing preventive care and contraceptives. But the pro-life movement only focuses the abortions.

  “Alexa, you are a volunteer here. We would all understand if you took a few Wednesdays off until the police find out who is behind this.”

  Dr. Crowe’s kindly face wrinkled in concern as he studied Alexa. He lowered his six-foot frame into the chair next to her as he continued. “Elise and I have made a personal choice to provide family planning and abortion services to women in need. The other staff here views these services not just as a job, but as a cause. We know that you feel strongly about our services; you’re one of our most dedicated volunteers. But, child, I could never forgive myself if you got hurt.”

  Alexa smiled at this man, whom she had known forever. Dr. Crowe was nearly seventy, although only his steel gray hair gave any indication of his age. He was one of her father’s best friends, and this dedicated doctor had always been one of her role models. However, for Alexa, volunteering at the clinic went well beyond hero-worship for Dr. Crowe.

  “Doc, it’s fine. I’m fine. You know that I’ve been passionate about a woman’s right to choose since high school. I became an even stronger pro-choice advocate in college. One of my good friends struggled with a decision about abortion after a date-rape incident. I’m in this for the long haul. I am not going to be scared off by a threatening letter.

  “I admit that the threat note is scary. Those people who picket across the street are pretty creepy, too. But, I’ll continue to be here every Wednesday to help out.”

  Dr. Crowe grasped her hand. “There was no doubt in my mind that you were going to hang in there with us. Is there any possibility that you could stay after hours next Wednesday? I have a procedure scheduled. The nursing staff will be here to assist me, but Tanisha has to attend her daughter’s school concert. Could you help with the paperwork?”

  “No problem. I’ll stay.” Alexa knew, of course, that the procedure Dr. Crowe was talking about was an abortion. The clinic often scheduled its abortions for the evening, after the protesters left for the day, so that the anxious patients could have privacy.

  Alexa had come into the clinic one night about a month ago to help with abortion paperwork for the first time. She hadn’t really seen the patient, other than a quick glimpse of the woman’s blonde curls and small shoulders hunched over her knees when she came to collect the completed forms from the nurse. Alexa believed that even the small role that she played had helped this woman. The patient had told the clinic staff that she was fleeing an abusive relationship and could not handle the responsibility of a child. In some ways, this volunteer work at the clinic was more satisfying to Alexa than her day job as an attorney.

  Alexa’s chickens came home to roost on Friday pizza night at Graham’s house. While she had dragged her feet in coming clean to her parents about the dead girl and the clinic threats, Graham and Kate had no such qualms. By the time Alexa reached Graham’s house, her parents had been fully briefed. Both her mother and father jumped all over Alexa the minute she and Scout walked through the front door.

  “Alexandra, why didn’t you tell us
about finding that young girl’s body? Graham told us what you have been through. Are you all right?” Her mother was full of concern for Alexa’s wellbeing.

  True to form, her dad, the attorney, first addressed the legal aspects. “You should never have talked to the police without Graham in the room. Didn’t law school teach you anything?” Then, he jumped to his feet and hugged his daughter.

  When he released her, Alexa said, “Mom, I’m fine. I wasn’t hurt in any way. It was terrible, though, finding her like that.

  “Dad, it’s OK. I was never a suspect. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a pretty horrible experience. I still feel like I should do something to help find out who she is.”

  Kate rose to swoop up the two kids in her arms, “Jamie and Courtney, come and help Mommy get drinks in the kitchen. The pizzas will be here pretty soon.”

  Her mother led Alexa to the couch. “Honey, we want to hear everything that happened.”

  Alexa described the day when she and Scout found the young girl lying under the bushes in the state forest. “It was so surreal to find her there, dead. Her eyes were still open. I can’t stop thinking about her.” Surrounded by her sympathetic family, Alexa broke into tears.

  She had finished describing the police interview when the doorbell rang. When Graham rose to get the pizza, her father said, “After the kids go to bed, we want to hear about this trouble at the clinic, too.”

  On the drive home, Alexa confided in Scout, “Big guy, you’re still my best buddy. I have to tell you, though; it’s nice to have Mom and Dad home. I guess I’ve downplayed the effect of everything that has been going on in my life. Finding that girl and then the problems at the clinic—no wonder I’m a little shaky about these things. It’s not like the parents can make everything better, but it’s nice to know that they’re on my side.”

  The big dog settled down in the back, and they drove the rest of the way in silence. However, Alexa couldn’t quiet her mind. She vowed that she would call the investigators next week for a status on their search for the unknown dead girl’s name and her killer.

  Maybe she would try to track down Reese the next day to find out what news he might have. Thinking of Reese made her realize that she hadn’t heard from him since Sunday and that she sort of missed him …

  At least Graham didn’t know anything about her day at Kingdom Lodge with Caleb, so no need to tell the parents that story. She was still trying to figure out how she felt about Caleb after seeing him in this new context. She hadn’t been with him since the party although he had called her from the road on his business trip. He was down South again and said that he would be there for another week.

  She welcomed the breathing room. She sensed that Caleb wanted their relationship to become more serious. That wasn’t something she was looking for right now. Or maybe, she concluded as she pulled up to the cabin, she just didn’t want a relationship with Caleb.

  Alexa stood on her deck and watched the moon rise over the trees. As Scout ran through the forest, the fawn mastiff was bathed by golden light. He abruptly plunged into darkness when he reached the pines. A shiver ran down Alexa’s spine when she lost sight of the dog in the shadows. She was about to call for Scout when he emerged from the grove of pines and trotted up the stairs. Turning to open the door, she shrugged off the sudden chill and followed the dog into the house.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Alexa’s mind whirled while she drove into work on Monday. The weekend had been a busy one. On Saturday, her father had come out to the cabin and, together, they had gotten the place ready for winter. They stored most of the deck furniture and cut logs for the woodstove. She devoted Sunday to a brief that was fast coming due.

  Earlier this morning, Alexa’s meditation practice had been totally unsuccessful. She could not empty her mind. Thoughts of the dead girl, Caleb, and Reese tumbled through her head, one after the other.

  Those thoughts still distracted her.

  I’ve got to calm down or I’ll never be able to concentrate on work, Alexa thought.

  Stopped at a traffic light just a few blocks from the office, Alexa glanced at the iPhone on the console. She sighed to see two emails that she needed to handle right away.

  Looking back up at the light, Alexa saw a filthy white van shoot across the intersection in front of her, sailing through on the orange, just before the light changed to red. She sat bolt upright and, without any conscious thought, turned right to follow the van down High Street. “That’s the van I saw in the woods,” she said aloud. “I know it is. There’s a roof rack, it’s the same color, and it’s all beat up.” She accelerated to catch the van, shifting the old Land Rover quickly through each gear in an attempt to get close enough to read the license plate.

  Within two blocks, she had nearly closed the distance and was only a few car lengths away from the white van, close enough to see the license plate. “Damn,” she fumed. It was covered in mud. The only number she could see was a three, and she wasn’t sure where it was in the number sequence. The back window looked like a stone had hit the glass, with several cracks radiating out from a single point.

  Alexa’s next thought was to try to pull up next to the van and get a look at the driver, maybe at the next stoplight. At the next light, however, the van, which was still a few car lengths ahead, took the orange again. The light changed to red, and Alexa slammed on her brakes. In the middle of the next block, two college kids stepped into the pedestrian walkway halting Alexa again and dashing any hope of catching up with the white van.

  She traveled a few blocks to park in the office lot. The minute she turned off the ignition, Alexa scrambled through her purse for the state police trooper’s card. Her finger fumbled when she tapped in the numbers on her cell phone, so she had to dial a second time. Finally, Trooper Taylor came on the line.

  “I’m sure that this was the van from that morning. I last saw it about five minutes ago. It was heading west on High Street, near the college. I had to stop for the light, and I lost sight of it.”

  “Thanks for reporting this. You shouldn’t have tried to follow the van on your own. But, we’ll take it from here. Thanks, Miss Williams.”

  Alexa’s heart was still pounding when she walked into the office. The first person she saw was Brian Stewart, who looked at her and said, “Seen a ghost, Williams? Or did you just skip the makeup and beauty routine this morning?”

  “Fuck off, Stewart,” she replied just as Graham emerged from his office.

  “Alexa, in here please,” Graham commanded, stepping back through his door. With a smirk on his face, Brian stepped aside to let her pass.

  “What is with you?” Graham demanded. “You know it’s not appropriate for the attorneys, or anyone for that matter, to curse in the office. And you look a mess.”

  “Graham, I’m sorry. That piss ant Brian always knows how to push my buttons. But, I’m all keyed up because I just saw the van.” She proceeded to tell him about chasing the van to try to get information.

  “Alexa, why didn’t you call the police immediately? What would you have done if you did catch up to the van? You could have been in danger if these people had something to do with that girl’s murder. I’m worried about you. You haven’t been thinking rationally since you found that dead girl.”

  Taken aback by Graham’s verbal assault, Alexa took a deep breath. “You’re right, Graham. This whole thing has shaken me to the core. For some reason, seeing that lifeless body made me feel responsible for finding out who killed her. I know that’s not logical. And, I didn’t really think about danger when I saw the van this morning. I just reacted.”

  When Graham saw tears come to Alexa’s eyes, he reached out to wrap her into a hug. “Hey, midget. I know that it’s easy for me to tell you what to do and how to feel, but I wasn’t there and I didn’t see her. But remember, you aren’t CSI Carlisle. Let the cops track down the killer.”

  When Trooper Taylor showed up just before noon, Alexa could hear the
whispers running through the law firm. When they were settled in her office, she described the entire incident. “I just know that was the van. The minute I saw it, I knew.”

  “We put out an alert the minute you called. Then, we had troopers drive around the area where you saw the vehicle. But, so far, no success in locating it. The van could be parked in a garage or on its way to Florida at this point,” Trooper Taylor said in frustration. “Did you get a license number?”

  “Not really. The plate was covered in mud. The only number I could make out was a three. And, truthfully, that could have been an eight.”

  “Could you tell if the plate was from Pennsylvania?”

  “Yes. Even though it was dirty, I’m sure it was a PA plate—a regular one, not a ‘Conserve Wild Resources’ one or one of those with tigers or trains.”

  “Well, just one number will be hard to work with, but it’s more than we had before. Did you see the make of the van?”

  “No, I was concentrating on the license plate. I didn’t even think to look for the name of the vehicle,” Alexa admitted.

  With another stern lecture on being careful and instructions to call immediately if she saw the van again, the trooper thanked Alexa and left the office. As she walked him to the door, Alexa could see the administrative staff and paralegals watching while pretending to work. She wasn’t surprised to see Brian at his office door, making zero effort to conceal his interest. Somehow the office radar had pegged Trooper Taylor as a cop, despite the plainclothes. Ignoring them all, Alexa walked back to her office, shut the door, and returned to her work.

  Caleb called Alexa at home that evening. He had stayed in Atlanta through the weekend but would be back later in the week. Usually, Caleb’s calls were short and to the point. But this evening, he was surprisingly chatty and spent a lot of time talking about his trip. Still trying to sort out her feelings for Caleb, Alexa didn’t contribute much to the conversation. He didn’t seem to notice and ended the call by mentioning how much his parents had enjoyed meeting her. They made plans to get together when Caleb returned.