“Awhile.”
“How long’s awhile? One year?” Silence. “Two years?”
“Whatever.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. Why didn’t you come to me?”
“I told him he should show everything to you,” Ro piped in. “He’s got a lot of stuff.”
Shanks turned his eyes to her. “You knew about this?”
“Don’t blame me, sir. You can lead a horse to water, et cetera.”
Shanks shook his head. “I want to see what you have now, Ben. Come in Wednesday after school. Not a request, an order. No excuses, no bullshit.”
“I’ll give you everything I have.” A pause. “What about Ortiz? I prefer to keep it between us.”
“Not going to happen, especially if this turns out to be Katie Doogan.” He stared into space. “How many cases have you, in your mind, tied to Ellen’s case?”
“Maybe a couple of others.”
“One, two, three?”
Ro said, “At least two. I promise he’ll be there Wednesday.”
“Good to see someone is on my side.” Shanks exhaled swiftly. “Three p.m. sharp! Now let’s go see Margot and Alan.”
There was a path of footlights to follow, adding just enough illumination to see one foot in front of the other. Wet detritus had been tamped down by the unexpected foot traffic. It took them twenty minutes to hike to the spot. The area had been roped off with yellow tape and there were personnel all over the place. About a half dozen officials were digging by hand. From what Ben saw, it appeared as if they had barely scratched the surface.
Ro was shivering, rubbing her shoulders and arms. Ben went into his backpack and pulled out a box of hand and toe warmers. “Put these in your boots and these in your gloves. They’ll keep you toasty.”
She placed them in her gloves. “I’ve used these for skiing.” She started to unlace her boots. “Thanks.”
He dropped packets in his boots, and within five minutes, his feet went from frigid to hot. The Doogans were standing as close to the crime scene as they were allowed. Margot was wearing a thick down-filled coat. Alan had on a leather bomber. They were holding hands. Ben didn’t see Bryan but he saw Kevin. The kid was a little bit older than Haley. Katie had been the only daughter.
“Let’s get this done.”
Margot saw the kids coming and dropped Alan’s hand. “Ben!” She gave him a tight bear hug. “Oh my!” She sniffed back tears and pulled away. A quick glance to Ro, then back at Ben. “I suppose I should say thank you.”
“Maybe we should wait for that one. This is my friend Ro.” When Margot gave her a cool appraisal, Ben said, “We were hiking together, looking for anything, and she was the one who actually found the spot. We bonded because she lost a sister from cancer at the same time I lost Ellen.”
Margot hugged Ro. “Thank you for coming.”
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Doogan.”
“Margot, please.” Her wild red hair was tamed under a knitted cap.
Ben shook hands with Alan and his son. “How’s it going, Kev? Are you driving yet?”
“He’s only fifteen,” Margot said. “Please don’t rush things. As if I don’t have enough anxiety.”
“It’s a part of life.” Alan was wearing a cap. For the most part, the man was bald except for a gray ponytail hanging down from the nape of his neck.
“Got a car in mind yet?” Ben asked Kevin.
“I like Beemers.”
“Dream on,” Margot said.
“Can you talk to my parents for me?”
“I’m not your best advocate. I still don’t have my own wheels. I’m borrowing a jalopy from my grandparents to get back and forth to Albuquerque.”
“What are you doing down here?” Margot asked.
“Taking some classes at UNM. I’m also going to be interning at Circuitchip.”
“That’s great, Ben,” Alan said. “Good for you.”
Ben asked, “How’s Bryan?”
Alan said, “He wanted to come down. We told him to wait. They’ve been digging for two hours. They haven’t gotten too far. They’re trying to be careful.”
“To the point of ridiculousness.” Margot walked away for a moment and then came back. “I’m a wreck.”
“I’m sorry you have to go through this,” Ben said. No one spoke for the next ten minutes. About fifteen feet away, Ortiz and Shanks were deep in conversation, occasionally glancing in their direction.
Ben said, “Excuse me for a moment.”
Ro followed. They walked over to the cops. Ortiz said, “So we’re all meeting this Wednesday?”
“That’s a fact.”
To Ro, Ortiz said, “You too?”
“No, not me. I’m done playing Nancy Drew.”
“Can you convince Ben to follow your lead?” Shanks asked.
“I can’t convince him to go to a lousy school dance,” she said.
Ortiz said, “And you’re going to bring all of your files, right?”
“I’ll bring you everything I have.” Ben slowly backed away. “See you then.”
When they were alone, Ro said, “You seemed a little . . . apprehensive about divulging your info.”
Ben shrugged. “I’ll certainly give them my Demon files.”
“And Julia Rehnquist?”
“Yes . . . and Jamey Moore.” A shrug. “Looks like I’m done.”
“So why are you going to Berkeley? Let the police handle it now.”
Ben sighed. “Nora’s expecting me, Ro. Please don’t tell Shanks. If I find something, I’ll let him know.”
Nora being Nora Rehnquist, Julia’s mother. Ro turned away and focused her attention on the action below. “They’ve been working for a while.”
“It’s a deep hole.”
A half hour passed. Then an hour went by. At eighteen minutes after ten, one of the techs jumped up and told everyone to stop digging. “I think I found something.”
Margot’s voice: “I need to sit down.”
As Alan and Kevin eased her to the ground, the tech said, “I definitely got something.”
Alan was walking in circles. Margot started to sob. Kevin sat down next to her and slung his arm around his mother’s shoulders. Ro turned her head away from the action, tears streaming down her face. “I can’t look.”
“Sit, hon.” Ben helped her down. “Do you want to leave?”
“It’s okay.” She was rocking back and forth. “I’m okay.”
He shouldn’t have brought her here. But just as she couldn’t control him, he couldn’t control her. He walked away, alone, hands in his pockets, eyes on the grave, as minutes passed one by one by one until they coalesced into an hour, watching the techs pull up bits, analyzing the hints and secrets that the ground had yielded.
Chapter 23
No need to wait for all the details. They left knowing that the grave contained human remains along with clothing and other items. Identification wouldn’t take place until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. It was time to get to shelter. Ro was growing paler by the hour. She needed heat and a bed.
Grandma Pauline was up waiting; Grandpa Ed had retired hours earlier. Once Ben and Ro were settled in separate rooms, Ben slept the slumber of the dead. He woke up at seven, famished, and without remembering any dreams.
Ro was still sleeping, but his grandma and grandpa were having coffee, watching the sun come up. The dining room was compact but had a nice view of their property. A small kiva fireplace was built into a corner, the fire flickering light but not a lot of heat.
The old folks were vital people with straight spines and wide smiles. Pauline was slender and had very long, gray hair—the style set a long time ago by the Indians and made superfashionable by Georgia O’Keeffe. Grandpa was shorter than her by an inch and very broad across the chest. His head was a cue ball.
Their typical breakfast was flour tortillas and dips along with juice and coffee. Grandma Pauline said, “I can make you eggs if you want, Ben.”
&nb
sp; “This is fine. I’ll certainly take some coffee.”
Pauline poured a cup and sat back down. “I’ve been thinking, Ben, about redecorating the kids’ dormitory. You’re a little big for a twin.”
“Well, don’t redecorate for my sake.” He tore off a piece of tortilla and dipped it in the salsa—way stronger than picante, but the heat cleared his head. “I’ll be studying at the library a lot.”
“I told you it was fine,” Ed chimed in.
“Maybe he’d like to sleep on a bigger mattress. All of the grandchildren are getting older, so it can’t hurt.” Pauline smiled. “Tell me about the girl.”
“She has a boyfriend, Grandma. We’re just friends.”
The smile retreated. “Well, she seems like a fine young lady.”
“She is a fine young lady. She’s just going with someone else.”
Ed said, “You want to see what I’ve been working on?”
Pauline said, “For goodness’ sakes, it’s seven fifteen in the morning.”
“Grandpa, we’ll have lots of time to work together after the first of the year. I’ll be here all the time.”
“Yes, I suppose.” Ed stood up. “I’m gonna get the paper.” He left the room.
Ben said, “I believe that my presence is changing the family dynamics.”
“Oh, he’s always like that. He lives in his head.”
“Sounds familiar.”
“You are a lot like him.” She leaned over. “It took him over a year to ask me out on a date. I was dating someone else and almost gave up.” She pointed to the bedroom where Ro was still sleeping. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you. She likes you.”
“Yes, she does. She also likes her boyfriend.”
“Who in this world is better than you? The answer is no one.”
Ben kissed her cheek. “Thank you for putting us up.” His phone vibrated. He looked at the message, then stowed the cell back in his pocket. “I’m going to wake up Sleeping Beauty. School and all that jazz.”
“I’m going to redecorate the room whether you give me input or not, Ben. You might as well speak up.”
“What colors were you thinking about?”
“Something warm—yellows, golds, and oranges. What do you think?”
“I like it. Knock yourself out, Grandma.” He tore off a final bit of tortilla and scooped up a healthy dose of salsa. “Wow, that’s good but really strong. What’s in there? Essence of newt and ghost chili peppers?”
“I’ll wrap some up to go for you.”
“Just put it in the gas tank of my car. With that as fuel, we’ll just jet-propel ourselves back to River Remez.”
At that hour the streets were quiet, although Ben was assiduously avoiding congested areas like the university. UNM had several locations but the main one was in Albuquerque, located on historic Route 66. Unlike Los Angeles and Chicago, the cities of New Mexico still retained old-style motels and diners and even a couple of drive-in theaters. Things moved slowly in the Land of Enchantment. To Ben, New Mexico was the bomb. To everyone else, it was the home of the bomb.
The sun was washing over the peaks of the mountains, bathing the crests in gold light: blinding reflections that hid the mysteries within. It was almost eight, rush hour on the highway. By nine, most of it would be almost over. He said to Ro, “You want to stop and get some breakfast?”
“I wouldn’t mind some coffee.” She turned to him. “Have you eaten?”
“Just a little salsa. I’d love another cup of coffee. I don’t want to make you late for school but we’re going to hit traffic if we leave now. How about Larry’s? It’s open twenty-four hours.”
“Do they serve lattes or is it swill from an urn?”
“It isn’t girlie coffee but it isn’t swill either. It’s actually pretty good.”
“Larry’s it is.”
He turned the car around and pulled into a coffee shop that had obviously once been an IHOP. For the last ten years, it had been Larry’s, but it still had the same blue booths and the same bronze-and-black insulated coffeepots. The waitress was around seventy, had dark, dyed hair tied up in a net, and wore a frilly white apron. She handed them menus and mugs.
“Coffee?”
“Yes, that would be great,” Ben said. She came back with a coffeepot and a pad and pencil. He ordered French toast. Ro ordered the egg-white omelet. After the waitress left, Ben said, “Sorry to put you through this.”
“I wanted to come, Vicks.” She sipped her coffee. “Might not have been the best decision, but it was my decision. Did they find out anything yet?”
“I got a text from Shanks this morning. They’re going over the dental records this afternoon.”
“They found a jaw?”
“They found . . . do you really want to hear this?”
“Yes, I really want to hear this.”
He exhaled. “Both of the jaws were broken. The maxilla—the upper jaw—was in pieces, but the mandible was for the most part intact.”
“She was beaten.”
“Or it’s natural weathering. The upper jawbone is much more fragile than the lower jawbone.”
“It was definitely a girl?”
“Yeah. We’ll learn more this afternoon.”
“Shanks will tell you?”
“He won’t tell me everything, but he’ll tell me enough.” The waitress brought their food and the check. “It’s important to me to know as much as I can. If it’s Katie and if it’s similar to Ellen, it tells me that I’ve been on the right track. Otherwise I’m back to square one.”
“I thought you were going to leave the detection to the experts.” She took his hand. “It’s time to join the human race, Vicks.” Her touch was warm and delicate. Even so, he slid his hand away. She went back to eating her omelet. “Are you sure you won’t reconsider the winter dance?”
“I have nonrefundable plane tickets.”
“I could probably get the tickets moved to the next day. I’m good over the phone with a sob story.”
“Don’t bother. Especially after last night. My heart’s not there, okay?”
She put down her fork. “I understand. I’ll take the girls and Griff and Ezra.”
“Thank you. We’re a good team.” When she didn’t answer, he said, “I also know that Haley scored some tickets for Milquetoast. I promised I’d take her and Lilly. Griff and Ezra can come if they can get tickets. Be happy to take them all.”
“I’ll let the boys know. When is it?”
“Middle of February. It’s on a Saturday night. I’ll drive them to Albuquerque and they can sleep at my grandparents’. I’ll take them home the next day.”
“I can pick them up if you want.”
“Nah, I’ll drive them back on Sunday. Have to be back in Remez High on Monday anyway.” He pointed at her with a forkful of French toast. “We’ve got a tutoring date on Sunday, remember?”
“Of course.” Her smile was sad. “I’ll miss you at school, Vicks.”
“You hardly ever saw me.”
“I know.” Ro looked away. “My bad.”
It made the papers by Tuesday. The Albuquerque Journal and the Trib, of course, but also all the state papers: the Alamogordo News, the Carlsbad Current, the Las Cruces Sun-News, the Roswell Record, the Los Alamos Monitor, the Santa Fe New Mexican, and the Journal of Santa Fe—which was really the Albuquerque Journal with a Santa Fe pullout.
Katie Doogan’s remains had been positively identified by dental records. The memorial service and the funeral for the slain teen were scheduled for Saturday at eleven. Most of the remains were still with the coroner, but something of Katie’s would be laid to rest. The Doogans would have a permanent place to visit their daughter.
There were scant details of the crime scene, but stories did manage to rehash at great length the unsolved case of Ellen Vicksburg, sending Laura into a tailspin of depression. Ben’s father reacted by working longer hours that day. Neither of their children went to school on Monday or Tuesday. H
aley remained holed up in her room refusing to take calls from anyone but Lilly. Not even Griffen made the cut.
Ben was the communication center for the family, thanking people for their kind words. But unlike when Ellen was abducted, he only had to deal with the hoopla for a day or two. By Wednesday, things had returned to a semblance of normalcy. He and Haley went back to school. Haley adapted like Haley, and Ben remained alone by choice.
By the afternoon, he was glad to leave school early. Ro caught up with him as he was unlocking his bike. “Hey.”
He didn’t bother looking up. “Hi.” A pause. “Are you okay?”
“I guess. At least no one mentioned us by name.”
“The anonymous hikers.”
She fidgeted. “Are you okay? I mean, that spread—”
“Yeah, it was pretty bad.”
“I’m sorry, Ben.”
“So am I.” He stood up and stored the lock in his backpack, regarding her objectively—smart and with personality to spare. She wore a midnight-blue cashmere V-neck that showed off not only her eyes, but also her swanlike neck. Her jeans gave her hips that wonderful feminine curve. Her boots emphasized her long, graceful legs. He said, “Services for Katie are on Saturday. I’ll be spending the weekend in Albuquerque and I probably won’t be back until Sunday evening.”
She said, “I’m going to the services, Vicks. It’s something I want and need to do.”
He nodded. “Um, you want to go down together? Don’t want you getting lost.”
“We’re not going in the mountains and I have navigation. I’ll be fine.”
“Ro, I’d like you to come with me.” A hint of surprise on her face. “Unless you’d rather be alone.”
“No, I’d much rather come with you, Vicks, but there’s a hitch. I have to cheerlead at a state game Friday night in Silver City. I can’t leave until Saturday morning. I’m sure you were planning to go down on Friday afternoon.”
“We’ll leave early Saturday. Not a problem.”
“Thank you.”
On impulse, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “See you then.”
Killing Season Page 18