Mystery at Deadfall Lake

by Terry McGhee

  “I really doubt it. In my experience, character traits of an adult are rarely changed voluntarily. Once a rotten apple, always a rotten apple. The degree may change slightly, but the character personality traits stay pretty much the same throughout life.”

  Hannity continued. “I mentioned that you might want to fly back to interview this suspect. Jordan’s telephone number is in the file. He is expecting a call from you. He has names of the local businesses where our potential suspect worked after he moved to Colorado. Maybe talking to some of his work associates could turn up some clues.”

  “Why didn’t this guy’s name come up during the police investigation here in town? It just seems logical that someone would have mentioned the guy who was pestering Wendy and Roy.”

  Hannity folded his hands in front of him on the table and then opened them and gently slapped the surface as he leaned back in his chair. “I don’t have any answer to that question, Jake. If Wendy’s parents or her friends ever mentioned this dude, it was never entered into the report. My guess is that no one ever mentioned this guy’s name.”

  I finished making my notes of some of the names and numbers in the folder. It looked like I would need to stop at the local drug store to buy another notebook. “Well, I still have a bunch of frequent flyer miles in my airline account. I will call Detective Jordan and schedule a time to meet with him. Could you call him back yourself and tell him I will make contact? Ask him if he thinks he could arrange a meeting for me at the prison with Jerkovick.”

  Hannity stood and extended his hand. “Will do, Jake. I’ll give you a report on my call.” I cautiously shook the large meaty hand and was relieved that my fingers were not crushed together.

  I thanked him and made my way out to the front office. Sarah was standing stiff at attention with her hands clasped in front of her. “How was your meeting with the boss?”

  “Sarah, you know I can’t discuss the case. This is an ongoing investigation. By the way, I see you have a new hair style this morning.” I didn’t think she would be receptive to my suggestion that she ditch the spikes and just leave her hair natural.

  She laughed and thanked me for the compliment. I hadn’t actually said I liked the new do, but if she were trying to imitate an ocean explosive mine, she had nailed it. She escorted me through the swinging gate into the tiny lobby. She actually pushed open the front glass door for me and said, “Well anyway, good luck, and I hope you find out some positive factual information.”

  I sat in my car on the main street in front of the police station. I reviewed my notes again. It was still business hours in Colorado. I would call Officer Jordan from my home office.

  I started the car and glanced in the side view mirror for any traffic. It was then I noticed a guy across the street standing under the awning of a used book store. He was looking at me and quickly glanced away when he caught me staring at him. He was wearing a baseball cap pulled low on his forehead, and dark sun glasses. He was wearing the same red and black checked jacket as the guy in the gray pickup. Either it was him, or there must have been a big sale on lumberjack coats that I’d missed out on.

  I couldn’t tell how old he might be. He immediately started walking up the street in the opposite direction my car was pointed. I pulled out onto the main street and circled the block. Then I headed back toward the police station, looking at all the sidewalk pedestrians, trying to see if the gray truck was parked nearby. He was nowhere in sight. I wondered if I should park and check out some of the stores to see if he might have ducked into one. I decided my imagination might be working overtime and did another turn, heading for the burger place.

  I could just taste the hormone-free, no additives, free-range burger awaiting me. Maybe a chocolate milkshake to go with it. The sign inside said they made their own ice cream.

  Chapter 5

  “Hey, it’s all part of my detective work now.” I sat on our deck, having a pre-prandial adult beverage with my wife, and told her I needed to fly to Colorado to check out the lead on Albert Jerkovick. “I do have plenty of frequent flyer miles for about five free flights anywhere in the USA.”

  Barb put both of her hands on her hips, tilted her head, and said, “What ever happened to your pledge never to go near another airport after you retired?”

  “Why don’t you assign a free flight to Inspector Hannity? I’ll bet he would love to fly to Boulder. We were going to use those free flights later on for romantic getaways, remember?”

  “I know, but we will still have four flights left. She was still giving me that squinty-eye look. OK, where do you want to go?” I knew Barb would not let this go. She looked up from her laptop and said, “I’m researching places now. I’ll let you know later. I’m down to London, Paris, Rome, Athens, or maybe one of those secluded Greek Islands.”

  “Sheesh, couldn’t you pick less expensive cities?” I said it before I realized I shouldn’t have gone there, so I decided to get back on the subject at hand about my sleuthing investigation.

  “I thought of asking Hannity, but they have no travel budget at all. He would have to spend his own money for a hotel, car rental, meals, and other expenses. These local police don’t earn a big salary. I can’t ask him to do it. I don’t think the town council would approve the trip anyway. Besides, this is now my case, and I really don’t believe anyone else would be as thorough.”

  Pulling out my notebook, I flipped to the page about the police contact in Boulder. “I haven’t even talked to this Officer Jordan at the Boulder PD. He might not have anything helpful to offer, but I have to give him time to contact the prison to see if I can get in to see our suspected perp. I’ll call him tomorrow.”

  The next morning, I sat at my loft office desk, investigation notes spread out in front of me, with a thermos of hot coffee at the ready. I stood and walked to my office window, stretched, and looked down at our deck and gurgling garden ponds. The early morning sun was just now peeking through the tall pines. This was my thinking place when I was working. I seemed to be better able to knit together thoughts and ideas when— “Damn!” I muttered as a small doe approached the deck—one eye on me and the other on the remaining geraniums. I reached for the crank-out window, opened it a few inches, and shouted a threat. “Hey, move off missy, and that goes for your mother too,” who I saw standing back a ways.” Maybe this was a training run for the yearling on how to steal a meal from the human inhabitants of the forest. I clapped my hands, but all this did was make the deer eat faster.

  Barb had been watching the deer through her kitchen window, too. “She isn’t afraid of you, Sherlock. I’ll take care of it.” I heard the sliding door to the deck open and a nasty shout of ”Shoo,” followed by loud stomping on the wooden deck. The doe took one look at the crazy woman with a broom in her hand, then turned and bounded off into the trees behind Mom.

  I hollered down the stairs, “Great job honey, you’re hired. The deer repellant spray is not working, and besides you’re cheaper.”

  “Don’t make me come up there,” she replied. “Why don’t you get to work, and I’ll take care of the menacing wild life.”

  I made a mental note to visit the plant nursery and replace some of the flowers I had laboriously planted in the many large pots on our deck. Maybe some kind of large net might do the trick.

  Just as I began to turn back to my desk, I noticed a brief flash of sun in the forest about one hundred yards away. It seemed to come from a clump of large Ponderosa pines. I quickly glanced away and moved out of my office. As I did, I discreetly snatched my binoculars from the corner of my desk, and slowly moved into our master bedroom next to my office. It was dark in the bedroom, and the sun would be shining into the source of the bright flash I had seen. I raised the binocs and peered out from the edge of the drape. I focused on the clump of pines. I saw nothing, and then there was movement. “Holy crap,” I muttered. There was a person with binoculars pointed at our house. The sun had reflected off of a lens. I was being watched. I steadied my han
ds and could clearly see that it was a man wearing a baseball cap. He was dressed just like the person that had been watching me as I got into my car yesterday in front of the police station. I would bet anything that this was the asshole that trashed my jeep. I thought of getting a photo with my long lens. Then I knew it was too dark in the deep shade, and I could never get enough detail in a photo for identification purposes.

  At the head of the stairs I shouted to Barb: “Barb go into the front room, someone in the forest is watching the back with binoculars.” I could hear her moving down the few steps to our sunken front room.

  I discreetly opened my cell phone as I ducked out of view. Sarah picked up and I said, “Sarah, its Jake. Tell Hannity that there is someone right now spying on my house. He is about one hundred yards east of the house, in the trees. Ask him to send someone to check and come to our front door. I’ll stay in my office so the guy doesn’t get spooked. Tell them to hurry!”

  Deciding that I better not give my watcher any clue that I had spotted him, I walked back into my office holding a coffee cup and sat at my desk. I did not want to even turn my head toward the window to alert the guy.

  Within five minutes, there was a quiet knock on our front door. I opened it and Officer Meadows removed his hat. “Hi, Jake, I walked in from the street. Hannity has been keeping me briefed on this entire caper.” I led Officer Meadows up the stairs into our bedroom.

  I stood back in the darkened room pointing to the spot where the trespasser had been standing. “Look at the dark area next to the Ponderosa clump of pines. He was standing— crap,” I said as I looked through my binocs, “he’s gone now.”

  “He may still be lurking behind a tree. I’m going to walk out on your back deck and make myself visible. I want him to know we suspect something. “I’ll say ‘who goes there?’” Right, I thought. Like he was going to answer a cop wearing a side arm. By now, our snoop was long gone.

  “Is being a peeping tom against the law?” I asked.

  “Yeah, especially if he is trespassing on private property.”

  I thought about this and then said, “Look, he has to be entering our property from the public road about an eighth of a mile behind where he was positioned. It would be helpful if you could keep an eye out for any parked cars back there. There are no homes near that spot, so any car there doesn’t belong.”

  I saw the officer to the door and thanked him for his fast response. “Heck, glad to be of service. It’s kind of invigorating to have an actual incident to investigate that’s not a ‘drunk and disorderly,’ or loud party noises. I’ll ask Hannity to let me devote more time to this case. We’ll catch the perp.” Meadows gave me a salute, clicked his heels, turned, put on his hat, and strode energetically to his patrol vehicle parked near our house. He now had a new challenge, and I had no doubt he would attack it with enthusiasm. Dudley ‘Do Right Meadows’, at your service.

  Barb was saying goodbye to Meadows, and I wondered how many neighbors would be calling to inquire about the police presence. I decided I would tell them that I was buying tickets to the police ball. Does our police department even have a ball, and what is a ‘police ball’ anyway?

  I dialed the number in my notes, and the other end was picked up on the first ring. “Boulder Police Department, this is Officer Smith, how may I help you?” I guessed Officer Smith to be in his mid-twenties and eager to assist whoever it was on the line.

  I introduced myself and explained that I was the investigator assisting our local police and Inspector Hannity with the cold case. “Oh yeah, hello, Jake. He said you would be calling. How can I help you?”

  “Well, I really want to talk to Officer Jordan if he is available. I just need to review the facts about the arrest of an Albert Jerkovick. I also wanted to find out if I might fly out there to meet personally with all your personnel that may have been involved in this case. I was hoping to be able to visit with Jerkovick in prison. And I’d like to talk to some of this guy’s former employers.”

  “If Jerkovick is represented by legal counsel, he or she would have to approve of the meeting first. Officer Jordan is out on a call, but he did leave me a note about your investigation. He should be back within a few hours, and I will have him call. You can discuss procedures with him.” I repeated my telephone number to Smith. He had more to say. “Did you know that Jerkovick is up for a parole hearing in a few weeks?”

  “Yeah, Inspector Hannity told me. The information I want to share with Jordan should significantly impact his parole hearing. Jerkovick may be implemented in a possible felony crime here in Northern California.”

  “Officer Jordan relayed some of the input from your Inspector Hannity. I understand that Jerkovick is a possible suspect in the disappearance of a young couple out there—a seventeen-year-old cold case.” I heard voices in the background when Officer Smith paused. “Sir, I have to get off the line now. I’m sure Jordan will call you right back. Take care, and good luck with your investigation. I look forward to meeting you if you fly back here. Also, since this is a case where the possible perp has crossed state lines, the FBI may want to intervene.”

  After hanging up with Smith, I made some brief notes about our conversation. I was beginning to feel like Alice of ‘Wonderland’ fame. Things were getting curiouser and curiouser. And who was this spy that was keeping a watch on me? Was it the same crazy that broke my Jeep windshield?

  I needed to think more about a plan if I flew to Colorado, to ensure Barb would be safe while I was gone. I also needed to discuss current events with Inspector Hannity. I took another look through the binocs from the bedroom, but the watcher truly had disappeared. I grabbed my mobile phone and headed down the stairs for the rear deck, another quiet thinking place for me. Barb had told me she was driving to the local market to pick up some groceries for dinner. I sat down in my reclining deck chair, tilted it back, and closed my eyes. The cell phone was clutched in my hand. I didn’t want to miss Officer Jordan’s callback. I could see no more evidence of my watcher. He would have split long ago once he knew my whereabouts.

  I must have dozed, because the ringing of the phone woke me up. It had fallen under my chair, and I fumbled to answer it. “Hello,” I said.

  “Is this the not-so-famous investigator from small town California? Jake, this is Officer Jordan returning your call.” Jordan’s voice clearly indicated a young officer perhaps in his thirties.

  I chuckled. “Thanks for calling, Officer. Is Jordan your first or last name?”

  “It’s my last, but everyone just calls me Jordan—or Jordy. Officer Smith filled me in on the info you provided. I also reviewed my notes on the conversation with Inspector Hannity. I need to call our local FBI office just to be sure we’re not treading on the Fed’s toes, but what can you tell me about this character Jerkovick and how he might be a suspect in the cold case you are working?”

  Chapter 6

  I could tell officer Jordan was making some notes. I said, “The close friends of the missing girl, Wendy Johnson, tell me this Jerkovick was a nasty character.”

  Studying my notes in front of me, I said, “The name Albert Jerkovick only came up when I interviewed three of Wendy’s college friends. Wendy obviously never told her mother about this guy or that he was bothering her at school. The friends did confirm that he didn’t enroll in the next college semester and that they heard he moved away. This was a few days after Wendy and Roy were reported missing. One of the friends also told me that Roy had thought Jerkovick might have been the one who had punctured the tires on his car while he and Wendy were at the movies. As far as the friends knew, Wendy or Roy never reported anything to the police or college authorities.

  “Now I’ve learned that Jerkovick is a violent person and find out that he is doing time for attempted murder in your state prison in Boulder. Why would he suddenly do a disappearing act and not re-enroll in school?” Running my finger over my almost illegible notes, I continued. “Do you believe that this very circumstantial evidence
where Jerkovick had opportunity, and maybe motive, to kill Wendy and Roy would be sufficient to delay the parole hearing?”

  “It doesn’t sound like very solid evidence, but if brought to the parole board’s attention, I believe it would be enough to delay the parole process. I tell you what; I’ll call the proper person at the prison and present the situation. I’ll call you back with what I find out.”

  “OK,” I said.

  “Let me ask another question,” said Jordan. “Did the local police ever dredge the lake looking for the bodies?”

  I dropped my pen on top of my note pages and slapped my forehead. “I’m embarrassed to say it was never brought up. I need to call Inspector Hannity and ask. I’ll do more homework on this, and we can talk when you find out about any possible parole hearing suspension. Let’s try to talk again tomorrow.”

  Officer Jordan said he would call his personal contact with the local FBI to inquire if their assistance could be available at this late date in the cold case. “We may find that the FBI will want to take over this investigation, especially if we ask for help searching the lake.” Secretly, I hoped this would happen. I thought I might be getting in over my head. I knew Barbara would be relieved.

  As soon as I hung up with Jordan, I jumped on the phone and dialed our police department. Sarah’s pleasant voice answered on the first ring. “Hello,” I said. “It’s me.”

  “Well hello, Jake, what can I do for you?”

  “I need to ask Inspector Hannity a very basic but critical question that I should have asked at our first meeting.”

  Sarah said, “At your service. He’s in today. I’m ringing his extension right now. Goodbye, Detective, have a nice day.”