Upstate Uproar

by Joan Rylen

  “Lock picker thingy!” Vivian said and clapped, then snatched it back from Wendy. “It was an accident.”

  “Accident, my ass.” Wendy smiled at her.

  After Jeremy drove off, they walked out from behind the minivan. “Yoo-hoo!” Vivian called to Lucy, Pierre and Kate. “Way to keep him busy!”

  “That guy loves to talk about himself,” Pierre said as the group met. “He could have gone on for hours if he hadn’t gotten a call.”

  “He’s got an interesting story,” Kate said. “We asked him about Mary Beth, and he seemed to really love and respect her.”

  “I thought he was going to cry,” Lucy said, shaking her head. “His affection seemed legit.”

  “He could still be a killer,” Wendy said, “but after seeing his van, I don’t want to see inside his house.”

  “Y’all find anything?” Lucy asked.

  Wendy shook her head. “Not really, but he had a gun in the glove box.”

  “I’d say that’s something,” Pierre said. “But I can see why he carries one. There’s no telling who or what he comes across in his business.”

  Vivian turned toward the hospital. “I picked up a little something.” She showed them her lifted lock pick. “Let’s go see April.”

  The girls and Pierre went inside and up to April’s room. Kate knocked and slightly opened the door. “Hello,” she called softly.

  Mike Grimm pulled the door open all the way and walked into the hallway. His black turtleneck and black slacks were rumpled but didn’t smell of smoke. The large cup of coffee in hand and circles under his eyes told the story of a sleepless night.

  “April is finally resting a bit,” he said. “They kept her up all night because of the concussion.” He pulled an imaginary piece of lint off his shirt. “She made me go home to shower and change, said the smell of my clothes was too much.”

  “How’s she doing otherwise?” Lucy asked. “Will she get out today?”

  Mike touched the bandage on his forearm. “The doc’s going to see how she feels when she wakes up. If she feels okay and isn’t dizzy, they may let her go.”

  “Did you get hurt in the fire?” Pierre asked, checking out Mike’s bandage.

  “It’s not so bad. I had a few minor burns. This one was the worst, covers most of the back of my hand, but I should heal up okay.”

  “Does April remember what happened?” Wendy asked.

  Mike shoved his uninjured hand into the front pocket of his jeans. “I’ve been over it with her several times and the police did, too, but she doesn’t remember much. She sure doesn’t know how she hit her head. She said there was a knock at the door and she went to answer it, but she doesn’t remember who it was or if she let him in or anything. Next thing she knew, she was waking up in the ambulance.”

  “She is so lucky,” Vivian said.

  Kate shifted from one foot to the other. “This may be a weird question, but do you know if April knows Jeremy Donaldson?”

  Mike looked perplexed. “Who?”

  Lucy imitated turning a key in a lock. “A local locksmith. He was a student at April’s school years ago. Drives a big white van with red letters on the side.”

  Mike’s eyes lit up. “I’ve seen that van around town. April will say hi to former students she runs into, but I don’t know if she knows him or remembers him from school.”

  Kate reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope containing the Visa gift card. “Here’s a little something for her. Let her know we stopped by and wish her well. Good luck to you both.”

  Mike took the envelope and said goodbye as he stepped back into the room. The girls and Pierre took the stairwell down to the first floor and went out to the parking lot.

  “What do you girls want to do next?” Pierre asked. “Anyone else we need to interrogate, any other cars we need to break in to, anything like that? Or are we actually going to take that drive to Saranac Lake or Lake George?”

  Vivian bumped her arm into his. “Watch it, mister.” She couldn’t help but feel disappointed at where their leads had taken them. “I don’t feel like we’re any closer to figuring out what happened to Mary Beth or Rebecca than we were three days ago, and now Nicole’s gotten sick, we’ve been run off the road, and April’s house burned down.”

  “Don’t forget our car burning to a crisp last night and the boat explosion the day before,” Wendy said. “Good grief, who’s the pyromaniac around here?”

  Kate hit the clicker and unlocked the doors on the SUV. “After talking to Jeremy, I don’t think he had anything to do with Mary Beth’s or Rebecca’s murders. He didn’t even know Rebecca. He did have some weird love thing with Mary Beth, but I think that’s all it was.”

  “He could be a really good actor and is hiding something,” Vivian said, clicking her seat belt. “Maybe he knows who did it.”

  “Hmmm, but why not tell the police?” Kate started the car but didn’t put it into reverse. “And I don’t see why he would have it out for Nicole or April.”

  Wendy piped up from the back seat. “He could’ve made Nicole sick to keep her from looking into him and tried to kill April because she knows something. She taught at his high school, she has to know him. She could for sure know a lot about his and Mary Beth’s relationship.”

  Kate shook her head. “I’m not feeling it.”

  “I was definitely wondering about Mike Grimm murdering Mary Beth after seeing that painting yesterday,” Lucy said. “But what involvement would he have with Rebecca? And he seems to love April. Surely he wouldn’t try to burn her up.”

  “I think he’s just an odd guy, always wearing black. And he says weird things sometimes,” Kate said. “But where does his path cross Nicole’s? Why make her sick?”

  Pierre laid his arm on the back seat around Lucy’s shoulders. “People get sick all the time. Maybe Nicole actually just got sick. You know, just ate or drank something bad.”

  Kate backed out of the parking spot. “It’s too coincidental that she got sick when she started diving back into her grandpa’s files. I think someone got her sick on purpose.”

  “Who knew besides us that she had his files?” Wendy asked. “Jeremy might’ve wondered about it since she talked to him, but otherwise she only talked to us out at Turlington Farms.”

  That struck Vivian. “She talked to us at Tracy and Brandon’s house. Tracy came in! Maybe she overheard and told Brandon.”

  Lucy grabbed Wendy’s arm. “What if they’re in on this together! That could help explain the randomness of the crimes. Drowning, burying someone, E. coli poisoning, running us off the road, arson.”

  Vivian turned in the front seat to look at Lucy. “You might be on to something there. A husband and wife duo of sex, drugs, murder, mayhem, porno and pyromaniacs.”

  “Drugs? Porno?” Kate questioned.

  Vivian shrugged. “Ehhh, okay, so those are a bit of a stretch, but what a headline!”

  Kate drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she pulled up to a red light. “I feel like we’re missing something. I don’t think we check out tonight. We can play it cool for one more night. If they don’t know what we know, we’ll be all right.”

  “I chatted with Brandon while you girls were upstairs this morning,” Pierre said. “He and Tracy were going to be around the house today so I’m afraid there’s not much snooping we can do.”

  “Which is a shame,” Wendy said, “because I feel like there’s more good stuff to find. There was great stuff in our closet, and I bet he’s got more important info hidden. And I still want to look in that garage, dammit!”

  Kate turned right. “I want to go on the hike again. I feel like I need to see where Rebecca was buried. That’s where I missed something.”

  “What can you possibly find?” Lucy asked. “The sheriff’s crime scene people were all over the area.”

  “I don’t know, but I’ve got a strong feeling that’s where I need to start the search over.”

  “I wore my Kate S
pade moccasins,” Lucy said. “I can’t hike in these, they’re suede, they’ll get ruined.”

  Vivian couldn’t think of any other leads to follow up on. “You’re going to have to take your chances, Lucy. I think we go on the hike. Kate needs her peace of mind, and with us leaving tomorrow, this is the last chance we’ll get.” Vivian kicked a foot in the air. “I’m in my hiking boots. I’m in!”

  Lucy sighed. “Fine, but our trust fund might owe me a pair of shoes.”

  Wendy crossed her ankle over her knee and hit Lucy with her tennis shoe. “I didn’t dress as fashionable as you, but I’m ready for action in these babies!”

  “I’ll give you a piggy-back ride through the mud,” Pierre said to Lucy and squeezed her hand.

  50

  Are you sure this is a good idea?” Lucy asked Kate as the group started up the trail. “Your shoes don’t look slippery, but your Clarks won’t hold up to the streams we have to cross, or the mud. Besides, we didn’t bring any water or snacks. What if you get hungry?”

  Kate kept marching. “I’m not worried about it, and you’re not getting out of this. These women came to me in my dreams seeking help. I have to see this through. It torments me.”

  Lucy sighed and trekked after Kate, being careful where she stepped. “I don’t like coming out here unprepared. We need water in the CamelBak at least.”

  Vivian leapt across a small stream, the ground squishing under her feet as she landed. “And snacks.”

  Kate followed, then reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a Ziploc bag. “Who said we don’t have snacks?” She bit into a bacon biscuit sandwich and offered the bag to everyone else. “Anybody?”

  Vivian wanted a bite but decided Kate needed it more. Plus, she didn’t have any water. She’d be thirsty and there was no way she was going to drink out of the stream — deer pee, bear pee, porcupine pee. “No, thanks,” she said to Kate, and they got back to hiking.

  As they went up in elevation and moved further and further away from the car, Vivian hoped they weren’t going to regret this impromptu hike.

  The trail was easier to follow since the sheriff and crime scene techs had trampled a better path, and before long the adventurers reached the area where they had picnicked four days prior. It was also the area that started it all — where Austin had brought them the human jawbone.

  Lucy stopped a few feet from the bank. “There’s still not a good place to cross. We’re going to have to splash through.” She looked down at her shoes, now covered in mud. “Sorry, Ms. Spade.”

  “I’m sure she’d love to sell you another pair,” Vivian said, then looked at Kate. “You sure we need to go to where Rebecca was buried?”

  “Absolutely. Whatever I’m missing, that’s where I’ll find it.” Kate splashed across without hesitation.

  Lucy took the lead and picked up the pace. “Let’s get this over with. My feet are freezing already.”

  They made it to the dry streambed and the tree where Rebecca had been buried. More of the roots were exposed, and Vivian wondered how the tree hadn’t fallen. One strong gust of wind and it might, she figured.

  The group spread out, searching the vicinity, but Kate walked straight to the tree. She crouched down and held onto a couple of roots while peering underneath.

  Wendy walked up to her. “Getting any vibes?”

  Kate shook her head.

  The crime scene techs had turned the ground in a wide radius but Kate picked up a stick and sifted the dirt just the same. So did Wendy, and Lucy and Vivian came over to help. Pierre walked around several trees, inspecting the trunks.

  After a few minutes of digging through the dirt, Vivian looked at Kate. “Anything?”

  “No, the techs probably found whatever there was to find, but I still feel like there’s a piece of information that will link this whole thing together. I just have to find it.”

  Pierre walked over, inspecting Rebecca’s tree. He started at the bottom and worked his way up, finally looking above his head. “Something is carved up there.”

  About 9 feet up, Vivian could see the outline of a heart with something scratched inside. “I’m too short to make it out.”

  “Boost me up,” Lucy said to Pierre.

  He bent down and she climbed onto his shoulders, then he stepped closer to the tree.

  “What do you see?” Kate asked.

  Lucy ran her finger over the carving. “It’s very faint, but a heart.”

  “Take a picture with your phone,” Wendy said, craning her head back to try and see it.

  “Good idea,” Lucy said and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She snapped the picture and Pierre helped her jump to the ground. They high-fived, and he kept his hand going and smacked her on the butt.

  “I’d like to see you in a cheerleader outfit.” He winked at her.

  “Oh stop.”

  “Let’s see the pic, Miss Rah-Rah-Sis-Boom-Bah,” Vivian said, laughing. The group hovered around her phone and Kate drummed her finger on her lips. “What’s it say inside the heart?”

  “I think it’s says SB plus T, but it was hard to tell,” Lucy said.

  Kate took the phone. “There’s something familiar about it.”

  “Was it at the lean-to on Moose Island?” Vivian asked. “There were lots of things carved into the bench there.”

  “I saw that there were carvings, but I didn’t pay any attention.”

  “At Lake Placid Brewery?” Lucy offered.

  Kate shook her head. Wendy ventured, “At the Olympic complex? There was a post at the base of the mountain that had markings and stuff. Maybe you saw it there?”

  “No,” Kate said. “That’s not it.”

  They threw out a few more ideas, but nothing jogged Kate’s memory.

  Vivian shrugged. “T could stand for Tracy, but what about SB? B for Brandon, but why the S?”

  Wendy studied the picture again. “The legal documents we found in the crawl space all had his name as Brandon. I don’t remember if there was a middle initial, but there definitely wasn’t an S in front of Brandon.”

  Kate glanced at the picture, then up at the mark on the tree. “This is the key. We have to figure out what it means.” She gave the phone to Lucy. “Let’s get back to Turlington Farms. I want to see those papers again.” She took one last look at the tree before setting off at a brisk pace down the hill.

  As they hiked along, Vivian asked, “What was Tracy’s boyfriend’s name, the guy who ran off to Omaha? Scott or something like that?”

  “We need to check in Grandpa’s file. He had it in there, but that sounds right,” Wendy said as they splashed through the big stream again.

  “What was his last name?” Pierre asked as he helped Lucy across. “Start with a B?”

  “I have no idea,” Kate said. “I can’t remember.”

  No one else could, either.

  The hike down the mountain was much quicker than the hike up, and they made it to the car without incident and without having any idea what SB stood for. Kate fired up the SUV and pulled onto the haunted road. Sun low in the sky, no ghosts were visible or popped up in the crowded back seat.

  “Maybe the S stands for a nickname,” Pierre said as they cruised down a hill.

  “Ehhh.” Kate made the turn off of Highway 86 a little too fast, squishing everyone to the right.

  “Scoot your booty over,” Lucy said to Pierre and thumped him in the ribs.

  “Holy shit!” Kate screamed and slammed on the brakes. “That’s it!”

  Vivian’s head jerked forward and back, and her heart hammered. She looked out the windshield for something in the road. “What is it? What?”

  Kate pushed the accelerator down, shot the car forward, gravel kicking up behind the tires. “Scooter Bill!”

  51

  Vivian grabbed her oh-shit handle and held on tight as Kate picked up the pace of their SUV. “Scooter what?”

  Kate turned down the lane for Turlington Farms, again too quickly, leani
ng everyone to the left. “Tracy called Brandon that a couple of times, and now I remember where I saw that carving. It’s on the dock behind their house. One of the boards isn’t flush with the others, and I tripped on it when we went out on Larson’s boat. I looked down and there it was. A heart with SB+T scratched inside. It looks almost identical to the carving on the tree.”

  Vivian’s head spun, and not only from Kate’s driving. “Scooter Bill plus Tracy. My gosh, it’s Brandon!”

  “He left a mark at each spot where he murdered his wives,” Lucy said. “The tree for Rebecca and the dock for Mary Beth. Have y’all seen that marking in the house anywhere? Is Tracy next?”

  “He’s a serial killer and we saw him burning the leaves, he’s good with fire,” Wendy said. “You think he tried to kill April by burning down her house?”

  “But why after all this time?” Kate asked. “That doesn’t make sense. Maybe her fire is unrelated.”

  Vivian looked out the windshield as they pulled up the drive. The normally cheery yellow house with white gingerbread trim now looked foreboding. “I really don’t know if we should stay here tonight.”

  “We have to get our bags,” Kate said and smoothed her hair. “We need to remain calm so Tracy and Brandon won’t know anything is off.”

  “What are we going to do with this information?” Wendy asked. “We don’t have any proof Brandon is the murderer, and the police never found any wrongdoing on his part in either death. It might be a hard sell.”

  Kate tapped her fingertips together in her lap. “Pierre, you go find Brandon and keep him away from the house. We need to look around.”

  “Where are we going to start?” Vivian asked.

  “Where all secrets are kept, of course, in the attic,” Kate said.

  “The access door to the attic is at the end of our hallway, but…” Lucy hesitated. “Don’t we need to leave this to the cops? What do we expect to find?”

  Kate opened her door and got out. “I’m not sure, but we’ve got to start somewhere. These women are counting on us.”

  The group got out of the SUV and walked into the house. The smell of baked goods greeted them as they walked to the dining room. A three-tier cake covered in white fondant icing and decorated with yellow, orange and red icing leaves sat in the center of the table. Chocolate cupcakes topped with orange frosting and two plates of cookies completed the spread.