The noise of a throat being cleared broke her stare, and she turned to find Clem Jenkins leaning against the window to her right.
“Zoe.”
“Clem, how are you? I thought Mathias told you to take the day off.”
“I’m alright. The EMTs looked me over and said that the shock would wear off after a few hours, but told me to take it easy. I’m avoiding heavy machinery, but I didn’t want to miss this meeting.”
“Any word from the hospital?”
“Mathias was on the phone with that detective lady earlier.”
“Russo?”
“That’s the one. She’s the lead on the case. The latest bottleneck as we fight for information about what the hell happened.”
“I’m glad you’re doing okay, I—”
“I don’t remember much from our conversation while you were saving my ass down by the lake, but I wanted to be sure that something was clear. I owe you many, many thanks.”
“Just doing my job, Clem.”
“You do it well and for the endless amounts of crap that we give you about being a woman or whatever, you’ve been an all-star from the start. You’ll be running this place soon.”
“If today’s event is any indication, there won’t be much to run. This place will be a ghost town unless we can piece together some answers.”
“I hear you. But still—”
“Thank you, Clem. I appreciate your confidence in me. Sincerely.”
Clem nodded and the shuffling of chair legs on the linoleum floor signaled the start of the staff meeting. Zoe joined the rest of the staff at the wide oak table in the center of the room.
“Hello,” Mathias said with a stern face. “There is not much to update from the hospital, but things are unpredictable at the moment. For now, we will be in full cooperation with Detective Russo and her team as they look into the assault. Let’s hope it does not escalate to a murder case.”
Joanne gasped and then lowered her head. “Sorry, I…”
“No bother. This is a shock to us all. Murder and Umstead State Park are two things that do not belong in the same sentence under my watch. That being said, I’m proud of how both Clem and Zoe handled themselves today. Ernest, I also appreciate your help with the first responders at the gate. This meeting is simply to check-in and ensure that everybody is doing alright.”
“We could use some extra staff for the time being,” Zoe said. A louder, deeper voice in the room drowned her out.
“Can we get anybody on loan from Eno River?” Ernest asked without glancing at Zoe.
“I requested extra bodies, but Eno is already understaffed as it is. There is a level of concern that if we shift resources too heavily, our culprit may shift accordingly.”
“Did the game cameras catch anything out there?” Zoe asked
“None were near the scene of the attack. Right, Ernest? How many did you get up yesterday?”
Ernest fiddled with his belt. “Two up by Big Lake, where the most recent sightings were. We got one up over by Sendero Gate, where we have seen people sneaking in after-hours for all kinds of mischief, but the signal went dark last night.”
“How in the hell does that happen?” Clem asked.
“Weak batteries or somebody tampered with it. I’d imagine it’s more the former than the latter, considering how well we hid that bad boy.”
“Joanne, can you project your screen onto the monitor here and open the files that are in the different folders?”
Joanne nodded and buzzed off to set things up while the rangers discussed the fallout further.
“Is there still blood on the trail?” Zoe asked.
“Taken care of,” Ernest said again without looking in her direction. Zoe tried to discern whether his evasiveness was any different from his usual blunt disdain for anybody different from himself.
Zoe added, “Thanks for doing that, Ernest. I planned to go back today and—”
Ernest raised a hand. “It’s no bother, dear.”
Zoe swallowed her growl at the unnecessary pet name and looked at Mathias, who nodded. Joanne interrupted by turning the monitor toward them. The bright screen emitted a light that was out of place in the dark mood of the room.
“Ernest was correct that there is nothing in Cam 1’s folder. That’s the one that is over by Sendero gate. Cam 2 and 3 appear to have captured something though.”
Mathias looked at Ernest. “Which is which?”
“Cam 2 is just off the trail, maybe ten yards. Cam 3 is down the social trail that the fisherman frequent but beyond their preferred spots to toss in a line. Didn’t want to end up with thirty photos of Clem in his lawn chair losing the catch of the day.”
Clem glared at Ernest but said nothing. He shifted his attention back to the monitor. Joanne had opened two photos from Cam 2, but nothing but a squirrel and a deer were in the frames so far. Zoe held her breath as Joanne clicked on the last one. Nothing in sight. Something obstructed the top corner of the frame, but they disregarded it as a leaf or branch. They moved on to Cam 3 and opened six photos of a deer navigating its way around a dried-out blueberry bush and a thicket of pine.
“Dang, well back to square one,” Ernest muttered.
“Would it make sense to set one up by the, uh, by where Wade’s body was?” Clem asked.
“We could. I see little merit in that, though. We need answers.”
“Mathias, do you think there is a connection? To the sightings?” Clem said.
Mathias stroked his thumb on his cheek and paused. “No.” The word bounced around the room like a pinball. Zoe watched as Joanne maneuvered the mouse to close each of the photos that were on the screen. She accidentally clicked to make one full screen instead, and it blew up on the wide monitor in front of them. Zoe almost jumped out of her seat.
“Look!” She pointed toward the screen.
“What? We looked at this one,” Ernest said.
“In the background. Next to the Loblolly pine that is leaning at a forty-five-degree angle. Behind it.”
Mathias moved his head towards the screen and squinted. “I don’t see it.”
Zoe couldn’t take her eyes off the image. Just behind the half-downed trunk of a sweet gum tree was the outline of the back of a creature. It stood on two feet and facing away from the camera. “Is that…” she asked.
“Well, you wanted your answers, Mathias. Hope you’re happy with what you’ve got,” Ernest said with a tone dripped in sarcasm.
Mathias squinted at the screen and then slumped back into his chair. He turned to Zoe. “Anything else?”
“I’ve got somebody who may be able to help.”
Ernest groaned. “Oh god, don’t bring Silly Gilly into this mess.”
“No, not Gil. He’s compromised because he’s the one who tipped off the authorities and drove us to put the cameras up. Somebody else.”
“Gil did what now?” Ernest shouted.
“Drop it, Ernest,” Mathias said in his leonine roar.
“My cousin is in town. She’s a detective from up north. Her boyfriend is here too, and he’s a private eye who specializes in stuff like this.”
“In stuff like what?” Mathias growled.
“Supernatural. Spooky, unexplainable stuff.” Nobody spoke, so Zoe pushed on. “I’m sorry for what Gil has done, but he meant no harm. And to be honest, we have bigger fish to fry now.”
Clem stood from his chair. The blood had drained from his face as he continued to stare at the blown-up image on the screen. He turned and faced Zoe.
“Zoe, if you’re looking at the same thing I am… well… that ain’t no fish. That’s a god-damned ape!”
Chapter Seventeen
The photos on the wall reflected the sunlight as it peeked through the window shades and made shadows on the drab, old wallpaper. The wallpaper looked more tan than the white color it had upon its installation, but somehow fit with the decor of the small cottage in the woods. It was clear that Zoe had spent considerably more time and
effort making the place a home than she had when Delaney had first visited in the early days of Zoe’s career as a ranger. It put Delaney’s beachside shack to shame. She’d barely hung one framed photo on the wall and half of her books sat idly on bedside tables in stacks about to topple over.
Casper sat next to her on the couch and kept glancing back toward the front door. She sensed his nervousness and although she found it cute that he still had butterflies before taking on a case, still, it was her place to reinforce his wavering confidence.
She nudged Casper with her shoulder. “Hey, I can see the doubts forming in your mind. Have a little faith,” she said.
“I know, I know. It’s just—”
“You came out to the Cape with this bravado and swagger that was downright impressive.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh no, wait. That was Hoagie. You awkwardly stumbled into my life, chasing after your wild-at-heart dog as it ran around an active crime scene.”
“Always knew he’d be the reason I got a date someday.”
On cue, Hoagie let out a howl and jumped onto the couch with a frisbee in his mouth. Casper tossed it down the hallway.
“Casper?”
“Yes, Detective Shepard?” Casper teased.
“I’m glad you awkwardly stumbled into my life. Just want to make that clear.”
Casper blushed. “Thanks for bringing me down here. I’m having a lot of fun. You know… besides the assault and investigation and all.”
“Glad you’re by my side. Now, keep your chin up and stay confident. You’ve got a perspective that these rangers are lacking. They think they’re looking for a beast in the woods. Steer them in the right direction.”
Casper nodded, and the front door swung open. Zoe hurried through and plopped a stack of files onto the kitchen table. “Here’s everything you wanted and then some.”
“Can I ask a favor, Zoe?” Casper asked, approaching the heap of paperwork.
“Go for it. Only thing left on my morning agenda is to go yell at Gil for being a jerk. That can wait five minutes, I think. Is he even here?”
“He’s been in his office since breakfast. Haven’t heard a peep,” Delaney said.
“Yeah, that happens. No reason to be alarmed. Let’s hope he’s making a dent in his manuscript. Anyway, what’s up?”
“Let’s start with the basics. How long have you been a ranger here?”
“Six years next February. Dang, feels like ages.”
“And tell me a bit about the park?”
“Uh, well, do you want like acreage and history or the current state of things?”
“Let’s start with the current state of things. The basics should do. Just trying to get myself acquainted.”
“Well, we’re the busiest park in all of North Carolina in terms of visitors. We’re smack dab in the middle of Raleigh and Durham, so we get it from all angles. Most folks are here to run, hike, bike, or fish. Harmless stuff.”
“And what’s a normal week like?”
“Nothing to write home about. Patrolling parking lots to make sure nobody breaks into cars. Helping injured and lost hikers from time to time. Each ranger has an assignment that goes beyond their normal duties. Ernest is in charge of the horse trails that are all over the park. Clem is in charge of foot trails and diverting them when the tread gets too worn or washed out. I’m the volunteer coordinator, so I get to watch Boy Scout troops pick up trash and help church groups power wash the picnic tables.”
“Short straw, eh?”
“So short there is barely any straw left. But you get the gist.”
“And how many staff are there? I know I’ve met some, but-”
“Four rangers, which is about six rangers too few. But every park is understaffed. We’ve got support staff too. Joanne Mitchell is our office administrator. The maintenance crew is led by Henry Meise and he’s got a few seasonal kids working under him.”
“Okay, so Mathias is the boss?”
“Superintendent, technically. Took over for the highly respected Katie Pope when she accepted an NPS job at Shenandoah. He’s the engine that keeps this place running in a lot of ways. Besides working, he’s got a family at home and his wife is taking night classes to become a registered nurse. He sets everybody’s schedules and tends to be fair. Not much peculiar about the man beside the unnecessary care he gives his Tom Selleck mustache and his aversion to speaking.”
“And who is the next in line?”
“It doesn’t exactly work like that, but that would probably be Ernest Henley. Older than the dirt on the trails. Former police officer and military man. He’s got arthritis in both knees but still refuses to do any desk work. He’s your typical grandpa type, and to this day I’ve never seen him without a hat on. It’s glued to his head.”
“Who else?”
“Clem Jenkins would be the fourth. If you run into him, don’t mention that you’re from the north. He’ll start on his rant about the out-of-towners moving to the area that are ruining everything he likes about the Carolinas. He’s a native, and if you hear him speak, you’ll remember that with each slow-as-molasses word that seeps out of his lips.”
“Seems like you’re not a big fan?”
“He’s an ass, but he’s got some redeeming qualities. I think the sexist tendencies towards me and Joanne are an act that he’s using to cover some insecurities. He works hard and takes his lumps when they come. I could ask for a much worse coworker when it’s all said and done.”
“Clem is the one that found the man on the trail?”
“Yup. Looked like a deer in headlights.”
Casper nodded. “Okay, changing gears. In the past few years, has anything peculiar like this happened?”
“Like this? No, sir.”
“Anything out of the ordinary, I guess.”
“I mean, Clem arrested a man who had a joint on him two years back. That had him buzzing for the next six months. We had two break-ins outside the visitor’s center, but that’s not that out of the ordinary. We had suspicions that there were hand-to-hand drug deals taking place in the parking lots, but that lost traction too. Then maybe six months ago, the sightings started up.”
“And have they been steady? More frequent?”
“Initially, it was rare. We’d get a spooked hiker recounting their harrowing tale in great detail, but we thought little of it. Being so close to Durham and Raleigh, we get lots of folks who don’t know what they don’t know. They come in saying they just saw a Sasquatch, but it was actually just the backside of a deer.”
“So, they gave the sightings little credibility at that point?”
“Until this morning, they had zero credibility. I’d come home and tell Gil about it, and he’d get all riled up. Beyond that, nothing was out of the ordinary at the park. After the first few, Ernest put up a map on the bulletin board in the back office and we started putting pins where people saw things. Might as well be one of those light-bulb screens we played with as kids. What was that called, Laney?”
“Lite-Brite. Oh, man, we’d spend hours playing with that thing!”
“Feel like we should bust that out when this mess clears up. I’ll see if they’ve got one on Amazon to get here ASAP.”
“Okay, last few questions. Up for it?” Casper asked. “I hate to interrupt the reminiscing.”
“No, this is important. Bring it on.”
“What’s the approach now? You said that Gil tipped somebody off and things escalated. What does that mean?”
“Mathias, my boss, had his hand forced by somebody above him to take action. So, we planned to print out informational posters for the public and hang them around the bathrooms. That and Ernest put up a few game cameras. They’re motion activated, so it snaps a photo each time something nearby moves.”
“Right, and these cameras provided the photo you mentioned? Can you send me a copy of that?”
Zoe tapped her palm on the stack of files. “Right here for you. It’s grainy to put it gentl
y. I doubt it’ll be of much use, but we had four skeptics in a room and everybody agreed it was Bigfoot-like.”
“Great. I’ll take a look. One last question for you.” Casper leaned in towards her. “What’s your take? If you had to explain this, what’s your guess?”
“Eh, I don’t know if I’m the right—”
“Zo, you know this park like the playground in your parent’s backyard. Don’t be humble. Use that noggin of yours and tell my boyfriend your best crackpot theory!” Delaney said with a grin.
Zoe sighed. “If I had to guess. Somebody is doing all of this to scare up the town. They were putting on a show this morning and ran into Wade Buchanon. Wrong place, wrong time. Beat him to keep him quiet.”
Casper nodded. “That’s logical. A connecting of the dots. Thank you. I’ll circle back with you once I’ve had time to review these files, but maybe later tonight.”
“I think we all could benefit from some time off later, but let’s see how the night goes. For now, I need to go yell at my fiancé. So, plug your ears,” Zoe hugged Delaney then stormed off to the back bedroom.
“What do you think about all this, Laney?” Casper asked.
“Laney is a childhood nickname. Don’t think that I forgot that your middle name is Archie, so watch it with the name-calling.”
Casper grinned. “Anyway, your theory?”
Delaney stood and paced around the tiny kitchen table. “This is weird. Somehow more bizarre than what happened up at the Cape. There seems to be some level of absurdity that follows you around, Casper Kelly. But I dig it. I dig it.”
“To me, I’m struck by the motive. Scaring people into thinking that Bigfoot is real doesn’t feel like enough of a reason to beat somebody up. It doesn’t even feel like enough of a motive to dress up in a costume and parade around the park grounds either. Greed or fear usually motivates people. So, I’d start with greed and see what pops.”
“You mean, like somebody who is writing a book about the same creature that is all of a sudden popping up around town?” Casper asked with a lump in his throat.
Trouble Afoot (Shepard & Kelly Mysteries Book 2) Page 9