by Alex MacLean
“Where’s Daddy?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is he working?”
“Maybe. I’m sure he’ll call you.”
Moments later, she came back. “Sorry about that.”
Detective Montoya walked in behind her, carrying a few cardboard boxes. She set them on the floor and started disconnecting the cables from the back of the desktop.
Allan watched her pack up the monitor, printer, and desktop in the boxes. She put the mouse and keyboard in paper evidence bags. Then she documented and labeled everything.
Mouth agape, Heidi asked, “Do you need to take it all?”
“All of it,” Montoya said. “Does your husband have any software manuals for the computer?”
“If he does, they’ll be in the closet.”
“How ’bout external hard drives?”
Heidi shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’ve never seen any.”
Denis said, “Detective, there’s some other stuff in the closet to take. Receipts, boarding passes, etcetera.”
As Montoya opened the door, Allan saw storage boxes of various sizes all piled neatly on top of one another. Metal bookplates were adhered to the front of each one, describing what the boxes contained.
“Is your husband a neat freak?” Audra asked.
Heidi flinched her head back. “Huh?”
Audra repeated the question. “I noticed how organized the other closet was,” she added. “Now this one. Or is that you doing it?”
“No, no. That’s Jacob. Everything has to be right.”
Allan frowned. “Has to be right?”
“That’s how he puts it,” Heidi said. “He doesn’t like his things to be out of place.”
“This makes my job easier,” Montoya said. “All the boxes are labeled.”
She picked out the ones she considered to have evidential value and set them aside. Poking through books on the top shelf, she brought down a thin booklet.
“Found the computer manual,” she said.
She placed it in an evidence bag, labeled it, and then stuck it in the box beside the desktop. Allan, Audra, and Denis helped her carry the items out to the van.
Twilight was descending on the city, deadening the colors and deepening the shadows. The air carried a chill.
“I hate this time of year,” Denis said, “You know snow is just around the corner.”
Montoya closed the doors of the vans, and they all began walking back to the house.
Reaching the driveway, Audra said, “So what do you guys think?”
Denis grimaced. “Don’t know. Not what I was expecting.”
“What do you mean?”
“The wife and daughters. I guess I was picturing a different man.”
Allan said, “What, some loner living in his parents’ basement?”
“Maybe, Detective,” Denis said. “Maybe I was.”
They stopped a few feet outside the front door.
In a hushed tone, Denis asked, “Do you think the wife’s hiding anything?”
Allan cleared his throat. “I don’t. Her shock and surprise seemed genuine.”
“But if she tips him off, he might run.”
“Only the guilty run,” Audra said. “Besides, how’re we supposed to stop her?”
“Can’t,” Allan said. “We can only hope she doesn’t.”
Denis scratched a temple. “I wonder why she gave him divorce papers?”
Allan pursed his lips. “Something happened. If he’s not abusive, then what? Fidelity issues?”
“Maybe they just fell out of love,” Audra said. “I’ll see what I can find out.”
When they went back inside, they found Heidi in the hallway, cell phone pressed to her ear.
“Still no answer,” she said, hanging up.
Allan checked his watch: 7:02.
Audra asked Heidi, “Did you leave another message?”
“No.”
Allan took out his pen and notebook. “Give me his cell number, please.”
Heidi told him.
“Your husband drives an oh-nine Camry?” Allan flipped back a page in his notebook. “Plate BFSJ six-nine-zero?”
Heidi glanced skyward for a second. “Um...I’m not sure about the plate number. I can’t even remember what mine is. But he does own a Camry.”
Denis asked, “Where does your husband keep his hiking gear?”
Heidi led them through the kitchen and into the garage. Allan noted the gray Corolla sitting there.
“Your car?”
Heidi nodded.
The back wall of the garage was covered floor to ceiling in slotted wall panels. Lawn tools hung on the right side of the wall. Hiking gear hung on the left: backpacks, trekking poles, different styles of hats, and five shell jackets in various colors.
Allan’s gaze stopped on two little backpacks and two sets of short trekking poles.
“Do the girls hike with your husband?”
Heidi raised her eyebrows. “Huh?”
Allan gestured to the children’s hiking gear.
“Oh. Jacob bought those for the girls to use when we vacationed at the Allegheny National Forest last summer. He took them on some of the trails with him.”
Audra said, “Sounds like he’s good to them.”
Heidi winced. Allan watched her eyes become wet.
“He is,” she said brokenly.
Montoya set her field kit on the floor. “We taking everything?”
Denis pointed to the trekking poles. “All of those, for starters. Leave the children’s.”
As Montoya began taking photos, Allan knelt by four pairs of hiking boots, all positioned against the wall with the toes facing out. The brands varied: Wolverine, North Face, KEEN, and Lowa.
“Not there?” Denis asked.
Allan looked up at him. “No Merrells.”
“Shit.”
“Are we taking those boots?” Montoya asked.
“Photograph the brands,” Denis told her. “Photograph the soles.”
Allan heard Audra call over to him. He saw her standing in front of a shelf against the left wall. She tossed her head in a gesture for him to join her.
“What’s up?” he asked.
She moved out of the way, and Allan noticed the small spool of white rope on the shelf.
“Check out the weave pattern,” Audra said.
Allan felt his breath stall halfway up his throat. “I see it.” He rolled the end of the rope between his fingers. “Nylon.”
Audra said, “Label says it’s a fifty-foot roll.”
“Was,” Allan said. “Maybe half of that is left.”
He watched Heidi on the other side of the garage. She stood next to the Corolla, fingering the neck of her tunic.
“Mrs. Stark,” he called to her. “Can you come here, please?”
He showed her the spool of rope.
“What about it?” she asked.
“What do you use it for?”
“We don’t use it much for anything. The girls and I made knotted headbands out of it one time.”
Audra asked, “Does your husband use it?”
“I’ve never seen him, actually.”
“How long have you had it?”
Heidi blew out a breath. “A few years, I’m guessing. I don’t spend a lot of time out here. One day I saw it there and got the idea to make the headbands.”
Allan glanced at Montoya. She had the trekking poles wrapped in brown paper and was photographing the hiking boots.
“Detective,” Allan said. “We’ll take this rope as well.”
Montoya gave him a curt nod. “Be right there.”
“What are you taking that for?” Heidi asked.
“Potential evidence,” Audra said.
“For what? Why can’t you tell me something instead of giving me this runaround?”
Allan said, “Everything is preliminary, Mrs. Stark. We really need to find your husband.”
Heidi spread her hands. �
��I called. Twice.”
“Does he frequent any particular places?”
“Not that I know of.”
“What does he do when he’s not on the road?”
“Hangs out in his office doing work. Or he goes off for a jog or hike.”
They all moved out of the way to allow Detective Montoya to take pictures of the rope.
Allan continued questioning Heidi. “Do you think he could be staying with a friend or acquaintance?”
She tipped her head to the side. “Um...no.”
“Why not?”
“He really doesn’t have any friends.”
Allan paused. “He has no buddies from before you were married?”
“I’ve never met any of them,” Heidi said.
“Are you friends with other couples?”
“A few.”
“Think he could be staying with any of them?”
Heidi’s gaze suddenly drifted off and fixed on something that wasn’t in the garage. Allan could see something at work behind her dark eyes.
“Mrs. Stark,” he said.
She blinked. “Sorry.”
“Can you call them for us?”
“He won’t be with any of them,” she said. “Outside of our get-togethers and dinner dates, he doesn’t bother with them.”
Montoya took the spool of rope off the shelf.
“Want me to carry that for you?” Denis asked her.
“No, no. I got it,” Montoya said. “You could be a sweetheart and carry those poles out for me.”
Allan watched them leave the garage.
Audra asked Heidi, “Do you have any idea at all where he could be?”
“With his girlfriend.”
Allan and Audra looked at each other.
“Do you know her name?” Allan asked.
Heidi took a deep breath, let it out. “Kate.”
Audra asked, “Kate what?”
“I don’t know.”
“How’d you find out about her?”
“He called me that one night when we were talking.” Heidi fixed Audra with a sour stare. “Tell me something—if your husband came home after being away for three days and called you by another woman’s name, what would you think?”
Audra frowned. “No doubt I’d be suspicious. A little pissed off.”
Heidi gave her a wry smile. “No, you’d be extremely pissed off. Jacob’s gone off to these different cities all the time, and I have no idea what he’s doing in his spare time. Sure, he calls us before the girls go to bed, but what’s he doing afterward?
“I believe he was with her last week when he disappeared for those three days.”
Allan asked, “After he called you Kate, did he try to explain himself?”
“He blamed it on fatigue. Said he could barely think straight from all the work he’d been doing.”
Audra said, “You said he called you Kate after being away for three days. I’m assuming he’d been off on one of his business trips?”
“Yes.”
“Where was he?”
“Halifax.”
All at once, Allan felt a dark realization pass through him like an electric current, burning away any trace of doubt he had. From the corner of his eye, he saw Audra turn her face to him then back to Heidi.
Audra asked, “He returned home on Monday, the eighteenth of October, right?”
Heidi placed a palm against her cheek. “Wow, how’d you know that?”
“Was that the date?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me something, Mrs. Stark,” Allan said. “Did your husband come home after that trip with any scratches to his hands or forearms?”
She stared at him with a dazed look in her eyes. Slowly, she removed the hand from her cheek and pressed it to her stomach, bending forward a little from the waist.
“Oh my God,” she said. “Oh my God.”
Audra reached out and touched her wrist. “Hey, you okay?”
“I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Do you need a glass of water or something?”
Heidi shook her head. She took several deep breaths before lifting her eyes to Allan.
“Was her name Kate?” she asked.
Allan frowned. “Pardon?”
“The person you think Jacob murdered.”
“What makes you think that?”
“These specific questions of yours.” She straightened up. “The hoodie and sweatpants you were looking for. If he came home from Halifax with scratches.”
Allan said, “He did, didn’t he?”
Heidi closed her eyes, opened them again. “He came home with a Band-Aid on his face.” She touched her left cheek. “Right there.”
“Did he explain it?”
“He told me he cut himself shaving. Got into a rush and wasn’t paying attention. Stupid me, I believed him.”
“You’d have no reason to doubt him,” Audra said.
Allan watched as Heidi opened her mouth as if to say something, then she shut it again.
“Did you see the cut?” he asked.
“He kept it covered until it was almost healed.”
“Has your husband ever come home with any strange cuts or scratches before?”
In a weakened voice, she said, “He came home last summer with a gash by his eye.”
Allan raised his chin. “The summer just past or last year?”
“Last year.”
“Do you remember where he’d come back from?”
Closing her eyes, she dug two fingers into her temple. “Um...was it Huntsville?” She frowned. “Wherever Moose Delaney’s is.”
Allan wrote it down in his notebook. “Did he say how he got the gash?”
“Told me he broke up a scuffle between some guy and his girlfriend.”
“Do you remember what month this happened?”
“No. Sorry, I can’t seem to think straight right now.”
“That’s okay, Mrs. Stark,” Audra said. “We can only imagine how overwhelming you must find this.”
“That’s not the word for it,” Heidi said.
Denis and Montoya came back into the garage.
“We got things almost wrapped up here?”
“Almost,” Allan said. “Just need to check the garbage.”
Denis raised his eyebrows. “For the missing clothing we couldn’t find?”
“Right.”
“See, Detective. I’m on the ball.”
Allan gave him a smirk. “Good thing.”
Heidi directed them to two clear garbage bags in the corner of the garage.
“These the only ones you have?” Montoya asked her.
“Yes.”
Denis asked, “When’s your pickup day for garbage?”
“Every second Monday.”
“So it obviously went last Monday?”
“Yes.”
Montoya never found the blue hoodie or sweatpants in either bag.
As they were preparing to leave, Denis gave his card to Heidi. “If you think of anything, please call me. We’re going to keep an officer in the area.”
“Says here you’re from Huntsville.”
“I am,” Denis said.
Heidi looked at Allan and Audra. “Are you guys with the Halton Police?”
“Halifax,” Audra said.
Heidi’s mouth fell open for a second. “Both of you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m confused.”
Denis chuckled. “We all are, Mrs. Stark.”
As he was walking out with the others, Allan felt a tug on the sleeve of his sport coat. He stopped and turned around. It was Heidi.
“Yes?” he said.
She gave him a pained stare. “Tell me her last name.”
Allan shook his head. “Sorry.”
“Please,” she said.
What the hell did it matter, he wondered. First access to the Internet, and she was going to find out anyway.
Allan let out a heavy sigh. “Saint-Pierre,”
he said. “Her name was Kate Saint-Pierre.”
45
Burlington, November 1
8:13 p.m.
“So,” Denis said. “How’d he explain the cut to his wife?”
Allan folded his arms. “Said he did it while shaving.”
“Kate Saint-Pierre scratched him,” Audra said from the backseat. “We figured that’s why he cut off her fingertips. Tell him about Moose Delaney’s, Al.”
Denis frowned. “Moose Delaney’s?”
“You’ve heard of it?” Allan asked.
“Heard of it?” Denis gave a light chuckle. “It’s my favorite watering hole in Huntsville.”
Allan said, “Mrs. Stark told me her husband came home from a trip during the summer of oh-nine with a gash by his eye. He said he got it breaking up a fight at Moose Delaney’s.”
Denis’s face darkened. “Bullshit. Li Chen did it. We already established Stark was in the area during the murder.”
Allan nodded. “I agree.”
Audra propped her forearms on the back of their seats and leaned her face between the two headrests.
“There’s no doubt this guy is behind the murders in Halifax,” she said. “It’s looking more likely he was involved in the Chen murder as well.”
“Don’t forget Ted Taylor,” Denis said. “By his wife’s own admission, Jacob Stark owned a pair of Merrell hiking boots at the time of the murder.”
Allan said, “We better inform the department in that jurisdiction of our findings.”
“I’ll contact the OPP in Kenora first thing in the morning.”
“I wonder how many others there are,” Audra said.
Allan looked at her. “What?”
“Victims,” she said. “We have to consider Stark as a person of interest in those other cases we picked out.”
Denis said, “Did you hear Mrs. Stark? Apparently, her husband has been doing that job for over ten years.”
“I know,” Audra said. “We only went back four years in those unsolved cases.”
Denis cracked his window an inch. “Could there be more victims no one even knows—”
“Jesus,” Allan cut in. “Do you think he’s been at this for over a decade?”
“It’s a possibility.”
Allan felt a crawling sensation over his skin. “I know. And I don’t even want to think about that right now.”
They were still on Shadeland Avenue. Denis had parked the cruiser down the street a short distance away from the Stark house, still close enough to keep an eye on the place. Another crew sat in a cruiser at the opposite end of the street, watching for Jacob Stark’s Camry in case he decided to return home.